OSAGE COUNTY — Commissioners spent a significant amount of time during their June 2 and 4 meetings discussing flash flood damage to the county roads and low-water crossings, how best to repair the damage, and whether federal funds would be available to assist with the cost.

Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters said one area near Chamois received around seven inches of rain in a matter of a few hours, between the two heavy storms, adding that the cost to repair the damage will easily exceed $1,000,000.

“I put 160-some miles on my vehicle yesterday,” said Peters, of spending the entire day assessing road damage.

“Some of these places had four or eight inches of rain in, you know, three, four hours timeframe,” Peters explained. “It’s pretty scary what Mother Nature could do.”

EMA Director Ron Hoffman and Floodplain Manager Savanah Atkisson were consulted to make sure the county followed proper floodplain management protocols and to assist with checking for federal funds.

“(County Road) 315 is washed down to solid rock,” Peters said.

He added that the new skid steer purchased last week had been running around the clock, while the old skid steer and all six graders were also in use. “All hands on deck,” he said.

“I’ve never seen water damage to county roads like this in my lifetime, locally here,” Peters said.

He said the county also had at least 12 dump trucks from six different contractors hauling rock so all available county personnel could focus on repair instead of hauling.

Western District Commissioner Dale Logan praised local farmers for repairing several roads before crews could get to them.

“County roads 503 and 504 in the Westphalia area, 506 and 508 down in the Meta area, farmers stepped up where we had washed out spots (where) cars couldn’t get through, because they knew how bad other parts of the county got hit,” Logan said. “Instead of calling in and complaining and trying to get us down there, they were fixing it themselves to help us out.”

Commissioners disagreed on the best strategy for repairing storm-damaged roads. Logan favored reopening roads as quickly as possible and returning later for permanent repairs, while Peters argued the county should take advantage of the emergency response effort to fully restore damaged roads immediately, rather than making temporary repairs and paying to revisit the same locations later.

“I think we have to get the roads open, but I think we have to be conscious of the cost as well,” Logan countered. “It needs to be fixed and done right, but when we got stuff spread all over the place, we gotta get them open and going, and then go back.”

Peters argued that making complete repairs while crews and equipment were already on site could ultimately be more efficient than reopening roads temporarily and returning later for permanent repairs, but warned that would require hiring a contractor to replace culverts if the chip-and-seal work is to be completed on schedule.

Logan indicated getting the chip-and-seal done was also a priority. “I am so glad that we’re doing it, because I am getting a lot of positive feedback on it,” he said. “I’m getting positive feedback to people that’s not even being affected by it, because they’re hoping to get their roads chip-and-sealed in the future.”

Peters said people on his side of the county were more concerned with getting the storm damage repaired, and he was not okay with pulling personnel and equipment to prepare roads for chip-and-seal while some roads still remained unsafe for cars and other low vehicles to pass due to storm damage. “We need to batten down the hatches first,” he said.

Hoffman said he would check with SEMA about emergency funding.

• Regarding the chip-and-seal efforts, Peters said he’d received a phone call from a representative of Osage County R-2 school district expressing frustration because the county was working on CR 801 during summer school. Peters said he ordered “Local traffic only” signs for that road, and for future use, so parents and buses would know they could still use the road.

• Sheriff Michael Bonham told the commissioners his office was preparing for both flooding and the fair. “We have rain forecast almost starting, I think, Thursday, all the way through next week, off and on,” he said. “Plus, we have the fair next week, which will be dominating quite a bit of time.”

• Bonham said the first of this year’s new sheriff’s vehicles is already in service and the second is expected soon. Defending the department’s preference for higher-clearance vehicles over Dodge Chargers, Bonham said, “If we had Chargers, though, there was no way on a lot of these (incidents). I’m just saying we would be in trouble. So, that was why we switched back in 2017 going to higher-wheel vehicles, because we’re a rural area.

“The accident we had on 100, we were shuttling emergency personnel down into where the crash ended up in that field, because they couldn’t get down,” he continued. “So, that’s one of those times and examples I think Travis tried to show when we were in budget. But those make a big difference. So, you hope you never need it, but then if you don’t have it and need it, you wish you had it.”

• He also praised Hoffman’s work as EMA Director. “I wish I could go into greater detail of all the things we do have prepared for a major emergency that we’ve been doing over the years,” Bonham said, before going into greater detail about what resources the county has amassed in preparation for major catastrophes. “So, there’s different things throughout the county that you may not be aware of, but we have prepared. Ron, much more than myself. Ron’s really got a good handle on the emergency services, and we work real well together. If it ever happens, you’d rather be prepared and have it than not have it and be unprepared.”

• Bonham reported 27 prisoners currently housed in the Osage County Detention Center, and this month’s check for $5,050 from Cole County for housing their prisoners. Bonham also discussed the low reimbursement rate of $27.50 per day from the state, compared to $50 per day paid by other counties, and described efforts to promote legislation to increase the amount paid by the state.

• Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin said Missouri 20th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Ryan Helfrich requested a meeting with the commissioners, and asked Commission Clerk Brandy Boessen to set it up.

ROAD & BRIDGE

Peters mentioned the county was out of vehicles for official work and he would be looking in to used trucks to avoid having employees use their personal vehicles.

• Peters also noted a request from Road & Bridge for a tractor to pull the bat-wing mower and said he would look into pricing now that the department has sufficient staff to run that mower.

• Quarry rock was hauled on CR 711 (18.97T), 723 (22.5T), and 740 (238.67T); a culvert was replaced on CR 412 (16.47T of rock placed at culvert site); road work was done on CR 706, 711, 712, 723, 724, 725A, 740, 741, 803, Old Mill Rd., and Train Bridge Crossing at Bonnots Mill; asphalt was placed on Old Mill Rd.; brush mowers were working on CR 303, 321, 401, and 801; road groomers were active on CR 412; trees were removed on CR 213, 416, and 521; and grader operators were active as follows: G01 (CR 412, 413, 416), G02 (CR 300, 313, 723, 724), G03 (CR 706 & 711), G04 (CR 532, 533, 612, 617, 623, 625, 633, 634, 635, 636, 637, 638), G05 (CR 711, 734, 740), and G06 (CR 315, 319, 320).

• Grader G02 (2014 772G John Deere), plow truck PT53 (2023 Chevrolet Silverado), & dump truck DT57 (2026 International HV507) were serviced in house.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Osage County Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin asked commissioners to make a decision on the proposed quick care before she expends more effort finalizing an employment contract for the nurse practitioner. “I’ve put a lot of time and effort into this,” Sallin said. “I’ve spent hours and hours and hours on this, and if you’re not interested in it, I need to know now before I spend any more time on it.”

Commissioners appeared hesitant to approve the proposed quick care clinic, initially due to confusion about the nurse practitioner’s schedule, and later because Griffin questioned the decision not to accept Medicaid. Griffin expressed concern that senior citizens on fixed incomes could be excluded from the service if they were required to pay out of pocket. Sallin responded that the original concept had been a cash-only clinic and that Medicaid had only been added because it was relatively simple to administer. She said Medicaid billing would require credentialing with numerous plans and likely hiring an additional employee to handle billing and insurance denials, a cost the Health Department could not currently absorb.

Although the responses to Sallin’s initial online survey were overwhelmingly positive despite the quick care being proposed as cash only, Sallin said she would solicit opinions from attendees of the next Senior Connections event.

Commissioners told her they would make a final decision about the quick care the following week.

• Another tense moment arose when Sallin presented a request to make one of her reserve nurses full-time. The nurse, she said, had left her previous full-time position with the Health Department because of pay, but recent wage adjustments and changes in her personal circumstances had made a return possible. Sallin said she had been trying to fill the position for six to eight weeks and that no other applicant had come close to working out.

The dispute arose because the candidate requested two weeks of vacation upon hire, similar to an exception previously granted to Road & Bridge Foreman Neil Mantle. Commissioners initially resisted the request, with Peters arguing the exception had been made for a department head and was not intended to set a precedent. Frustrated by the discussion, Sallin reminded the commissioners she was struggling to fill the position and said, “I’m telling you, I am working so many hours, I can’t do more things, I can’t, I won’t. You’re at risk of losing me, okay, because I am working at home, I’m coming in early, I’m staying late, I’m working most of my vacation time. I need help. I need help. Kandiss and I are the only two nurses. We’re the only two people who can give a shot. We’re the only two people who can do a nursing assessment. I need help. I’m standing in front of you, telling you I need help. I can’t continue this way.”

Asked whether services could be reduced instead of hiring another nurse, Sallin said, “(If) we decrease services, then we lose (grant) funding, because I thought about that, like, let’s see what we can decrease. Then we lose funding, or somebody walks in the door, and we’re like, ‘Oh, sorry, today, we can’t do that.’ We have not had to tell anyone ‘We can’t do that for you today because we don’t have a nurse here,’ because Kandiss and I have made it happen. We’ve been there.

“It’s not sustainable, though,” she continued. “And, like I said, I could bring her in the office tomorrow, and I can leave, and she would be able to handle everything. This is a diamond in the rough for me. This is an answered prayer, to be completely honest. This person, right here.”

Logan said the commissioners planned to make the change from vacation and sick time granted annually to earned PTO the following week, and asked if the candidate would consider a two-week advance against future earned PTO, whereby she would not begin accruing more PTO until the initial two weeks had been earned. Sallin felt certain she would, and the motion was made and approved unanimously.

• Sallin reported the department had 17 attendees for the recent Child & Babysitting and CPR class, and had to turn five potential participants away after the registration deadline had passed. She mentioned doing a poll to see if another teen CPR class might be needed, as more interest was shown in the CPR portion of the class.

• She also mentioned attending reunification training, as the Health Department is responsible for reuniting children and parents after events such as school shootings.

• Sallin said her department is also preparing for the fair, and the lactation station, an air-conditioned building provided by Classic Buildings, will again be available for breastfeeding, pumping, changing diapers, or just cooling off during the fair.

• Sallin notified the commissioners that DOT certification necessary to conduct drug testing for CDL holders was not financially viable for the county, with an estimated cost of about $10,000. The commissioners decided to maintain their current testing contract for Road & Bridge while continuing to have the Health Department perform all other employee testing, including pre-employment testing for Road & Bridge positions, which would not have to be submitted to DOT.

911/Emergency Management

Osage County 911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman told the commissioners a storm-related event had knocked out all county phones except 911 for about 15 hours, including the county’s internet, resulting in the temporary loss of ProQA, a system that guides dispatchers through emergency call questions. “Everybody went back to paper from 10 years ago,” Hoffman said. “I think everybody did great. They did a hell of a job taking care of business like they should.”

Eric Reichel of Remote Computer Services (RCS) found the server was “not fried or cooked” but had been “scrambled” and was able to restore service.

Commissioners said the courthouse surge counter showed two lightning strikes during the storm, and Hoffman said they should include the server, internet, and phone repair costs in their storm damage assessment.

FINANCIAL

• An income report for the County Clerk for the month of May showed a monthly total of $1,879, including Liquor License ($1,799), Notary ($75), and Misc/CC ($5).

• Time sheets were approved by commissioners.