OSAGE COUNTY — Osage County commissioners unanimously agreed during their Oct. 27 meeting to hire McClure Engineering to design a replacement low-water crossing on CR 403, while asking the firm to explore whether the new structure could accommodate two vehicles side by side.

Engineer Aaron McVicker presented a proposal covering design, surveying, permitting, and assistance with bidding the project. Western District Commissioner Dale Logan made the motion to hire the firm for $49,300, with Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters seconding after questioning whether the project was in order for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance.

Peters asked how quickly the firm could present options and deliver engineered plans ready for construction bids. McVicker said he was aiming to have plans ready in about 90 days. Peters stressed that commissioners needed time to solicit construction bids and have the work completed within the disaster recovery schedule.

The proposal calls for a concrete low-water slab with culverts underneath to carry normal stream flow. McVicker said he did not expect construction to take more than 30 days, with the road closed during the work.

His preliminary construction estimate was $255,500, including a 20% contingency. He emphasized that the figure was very rough and based on numerous assumptions, including a 16-foot-wide driving surface.

Peters favored a crossing wide enough for two cars. Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin also questioned whether the county should build a wider crossing to remain consistent with its road improvements. Logan raised concerns about the narrow approach from the Loose Creek side and whether widening would require additional property rights.

Commissioners asked McVicker to compare the options and costs. Peters said he wanted actual measurements of the approach, adding that a road only 15 or 16 feet wide might need attention as well.

The county’s floodplain manager, Savana Atkisson, attended the discussion and said the work would require a floodplain development permit because the replacement would change the existing structure. A no-rise certificate would not be required. McVicker said the initial plan was to stay within the existing right of way, and commissioners agreed to obtain that information for the firm.

Commissioners also discussed how to select an engineer under the county’s procurement policy, which requires bidding for purchases over $12,000. McVicker distinguished price bidding from qualifications-based selection, saying engineering services should not be selected through low bids. He explained that MoDOT’s selection procedures applied to its projects, while commissioners needed to address procurement for this project themselves.

• Sheriff Michael Bonham asked commissioners to consider adding one deputy and increasing deputy salaries during the upcoming budget process to make pay more competitive with Road and Bridge. He said a vehicle obtained through a grant would allow the department to add the position without purchasing another vehicle. Peters told him to bring the request to budget discussions.

• Commissioners unanimously authorized hiring a contractor already working near Osage Industries to excavate a deteriorated culvert beneath Twin Ridge Road. Peters said the contractor had a large excavator on site, charged $200 per hour, and estimated he could remove the culvert in three hours. County crews would otherwise need a couple of days, Peters said. The authorization covered removal, and Peters was checking on a replacement pipe.

• Interim County Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer conducted a budget amendment hearing, saying the proposed changes involved additional income, expenditures, and transfers. The amendments had been available to the public since Oct. 21, with approval scheduled for Nov. 10.

• Dudenhoeffer reported obtaining a $2,850.20 credit from Mitel after she and Deputy Clerk Juanita Libbert noticed the county was being charged taxes. She sent the county’s tax exemption letter to the company, which told her it could review charges going back 10 years.

• Commissioners agreed Dudenhoeffer should work with Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Grellner to review suggested employee handbook changes before returning with recommendations.

• Dudenhoeffer asked commissioners to review a proposed ordinance concerning SB 190 and SB 3 so the collector’s office would have guidance on implementation. She said Travis Elliott had clarified that the proposed ordinance addressed both measures and the potential outcomes of litigation. No ordinance was adopted during the discussion.

• Alan Fay of Higginbotham was available to meet with employees about health insurance benefits. Dudenhoeffer said enrollment emails would be sent that day so employees could set up their accounts in Employee Navigator. All employees needed to complete the process, including those declining coverage, and assistance was available.

• Another insurance representative asked whether the county would consider competing property and casualty insurance quotes. Logan said he was pleased with Higginbotham’s work during its first year as the county’s agent, but would consider alternatives without first changing agents.

“If you can get us a quote without jumping ship, I’m all ears,” Logan said. “That’s for sure. Because if it helps the county, then I’m on board.”

Discussion centered on carriers working with only one agency and whether an inquiry by one agent could affect another’s ability to obtain a quote. Dudenhoeffer said she would seek clarification and wanted to hear the other quotes when the county’s current representative returned.

ROAD & BRIDGE

Road and Bridge Foreman Neil Mantle and Greg Muenks discussed an hourly agreement for road improvements, preparing additional roads for chip and seal, and training county grader operators to improve drainage and reduce rock costs.

Muenks estimated general road rehabilitation would average about 10 hours per mile, although preparation for chip and seal would take additional work. Commissioners wanted the routine road work kept separate from the chip-and-seal preparation and asked for equipment rates and other details so County Attorney Amanda Grellner could prepare a contract. The discussion included a minimum of 300 hours per year for Muenks’ grader work.

Muenks proposed using a scraper where material needed to be carried farther and an excavator where trees and roots needed removal. He said using the appropriate equipment could reduce the time required compared with doing all the work with a grader.

CR 401 was identified as the next road to prepare. Commissioners discussed separating costs for the county-funded portion from the portion being paid for by residents, with billing handled through the county. They also discussed contacting landowners before work affecting fences, trees, or shoulders began.

Peters pressed to get the remaining chip-and-seal roads prepared for spring, saying the county had already set aside the money. Mantle believed Muenks’ help could allow crews to complete that preparation and address work in the 700s during the winter. Peters cautioned that reimbursement depended on meeting the applicable schedule.

Muenks offered to have county employees work alongside him for a week or two to learn his approach to grading. His emphasis was on restoring the crown, getting water off the road quickly, and recovering material that had washed into ditches or down hills.

“You don’t want rock on the road. You want rock in the road,” Muenks said.

He recommended minimizing gravel hauling from May through October, except where necessary, because rock placed on a hard, dry road would remain loose rather than becoming incorporated into the surface. Logan said the county was spending about $500,000 annually on rock, and Muenks said he believed his approach could cut that expense in half.

Peters said some locations presented obstacles such as exposed shelf rock, narrow roads, deep ditches, and limited equipment and manpower. Muenks disagreed that adding rock was the solution in those cases and emphasized training operators to recover existing material. Mantle said the county could reduce rock purchases if more operators used that approach.

Muenks also suggested rock-filled ditch checks on steep hills to slow erosion and stabilize drainage channels.

• Peters said CR 241 near Hope had been graded but still needed material to cover exposed rock. Mantle said he would likely use screenings.

• Mantle reported that another test run had not reproduced the problem with a Caterpillar grader. Crews would continue testing it, and a Caterpillar technician was expected to inspect it in about a week. A John Deere grader had returned following warranty work, while an older John Deere was down after fan blades began breaking off.

• The new whipper tractor arrived at Rosebud Tractor and was having a roll cage installed. Mantle hoped to receive it by the middle of the following week.

• Peters said warranty replacement parts for the county’s new dump truck were on backorder until mid-November. He had contacted Rush Truck and requested either a loaner truck or payment for outside hauling while the county’s truck remained unavailable. The matter was still under discussion.

• Logan was gathering information about a truck purchase and guaranteed resale arrangement used by other counties. Commissioners wanted to see the figures and contract details before considering it further.

• The road report for Oct. 20 - 26 showed quarry rock was hauled on CR 701 (32.59T); two culverts were replaced on CR 432 (35.63T); road milling was done on Loose Creek Highway; trees were trimmed/removed on CR 244 & 512; brush mowers were working on CR 711, 716, 717; and grader operators were active as follows: G02 (CR 501, 502), G03 (CR 302, 602, 604), G04 (CR 522, 624, 633, 634, 635), G05 (CR 701), G06 (CR 315, 318).

• Grader G05 (2023 672G John Deere), dump trucks DT27 (2000 Sterling Single Axle) & dump truck DT57 (2026 International HV507 (white)), plow trucks PT28 (2019 Ford F550), PT29 (2014 Dodge Ram two-ton), PT38 (2019 Ford F550), & PT47 (2009 Ford F450), and car C36 (2020 Dodge Durango) were serviced out of house.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin reported Quick Care saw 24 patients the previous week and six the day before the meeting.

• Sallin said the employee responsible for restaurant, daycare, and other environmental health inspections would no longer be full time after that week. The department was still determining how to cover work that needed to be done during the week.

The employee would be able to complete most restaurant inspections on weekends because most restaurants were open on weekends, but daycares and schools, which were not, presented a scheduling problem. Sallin estimated the department averaged five to six inspections weekly.

Sallin said she could investigate complaints and document sewer complaints for communication with the state, but was not trained to conduct full inspections.

Having the administrator perform inspections also presented an oversight issue, she said, because complaints about her work would have to go to commissioners.

• The department was distributing Halloween safety bags, primarily funded by a MoDOT grant. Each reflective bag included a light-up bracelet, safety information, and a toothbrush. Sallin encouraged families to use the drive-through, with a limit of one bag per child.

• Sallin said space would be made in the shed for two toilets removed from the department, pending their sale through Purple Wave.

911/Emergency Management

911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman discussed confusion over the closure of part of CR 736 and the need to clarify access, addresses, and road identification for emergency responders.

“We didn’t know it was closed until somebody tried to drive down it, and there was a barricade,” Hoffman said.

Peters said barricades on the Bland side had been moved the previous day so the entire road was not blocked. Hoffman said he had notified responders after checking access and would contact the affected property owner about the address. Commissioners discussed distinguishing the portions remaining open at either end with A and B designations or directional labels.

• Hoffman reported the Category A debris grant was awaiting FEMA’s signature. He had submitted Category C paperwork for roads and culverts the previous Friday, and it had not yet been processed by the FEMA representative. FEMA believed resetting a password had resolved his electronic signature problem.

Commissioners questioned whether the CR 403 slab was on the disaster damage list. Hoffman said it was not on the list he had reviewed and agreed to follow up with Road and Bridge staff and amend the list.

• The GIS grant kickoff had taken place the previous Wednesday. Hoffman said the work would check mapping information, including road centerlines, river boundaries, and consistency with neighboring counties.

FINANCIAL

• Bills totaling $132,191.26 were approved by commissioners, with the following totals by department: 911/EMA ($2,951.32), Assessor ($9,332.63), Building & Grounds ($75.09), Collector ($136.54), Coroner ($244.97), County Clerk ($385.82), Election ($20,778.36), Health Department ($9,222.60), Juvenile & Family Court ($2,925.40), Misc. ($18,956.26), Prosecuting Attorney ($2,285.39), Recorder ($20.00), Road & Bridge ($59,178.90), and Sheriff-Jail ($5,635.97).

• County Aid Road Trust (CART) distribution received from the state of Missouri for the month of October was $90,507.89, including Motor Fuel Tax ($71,824.02), Motor Vehicle Sales Tax ($13,950.80), and Motor Vehicle Fee Increases ($4,733.07).