TUESDAY, FEB. 11, 2020

Road & Bridge Foreman Ron Kempker announced an effort to get 5,000-hour maintenance done soon on as many heavy graders as possible. Several are coming due, and Fabick CAT of Jefferson City is rumored to be closing. Should that occur, Osage County graders would have to be hauled to Columbia for service. As long as the Jefferson City shop is open, they can be driven there, saving the county a lot of money. "It's just a thing that has to be done to these graders," he concluded.

The main 5,000-hour maintenance item is cleaning the exhaust system. There's a lot of disassembling required, Kempker noted, and there's no choice but to have it done at a certified Caterpillar location. "While [Fabick CAT Jefferson City] is still here, I'm going to try and get them in," said Kempker. "If we don't clean them, they'll just shut themselves down."

He's also coordinating the maintenance events with down time scheduled for other reasons.

* Kempker showed photos of the recently completed project on the CR 638 bridge. New warning signs are up for the deck's edge. Road and Bridge crews still plan to add rip-rap to shore up the banks near the bridge piers; but everyone seems happy with the work performed by concrete contractor Jeff Strickland. "He's known to do good work," Second District Commissioner Larry Kliethermes observed.

* Before taking questions and comments from the commissioners, Kempker said, "I know a lot of the county roads are bad. The trucks are running as hard as they can run. I'd actually like to hear about roads which don't need work. We've scheduled work on 12 roads today."

Recent snow events have occupied crews and equipment. It's to the point regular maintenance is neglected. Kempker estimates a one-day snow event costs a week of routine activity.

Nevertheless, the two district commissioners had lists. Kliethermes called attention to CR 515, and the route a grader had to take across CR 521 to get to it. There are some bad potholes on CR 521; and he wondered why the grader didn't drop his blade on the way to CR 515 to at least temporarily fill those holes. "I know you're not going to crown it," he said, "but couldn't he at least shove some gravel in those holes?"

Kempker acknowledged the logic and promised to speak with the operator.

Kliethermes also spoke of the low-water slab on CR 621. Asphalt there is breaking up, and the road surface has become a safety issue. "I know the only time it's really dry is in the hot summer," he said, acknowledging dry weather will be required to make a permanent fix.

Kempker is aware of it, and several other low-water crossings which need work. "I have all the slabs on the list," he asserted.

First District Commissioner John Glavin brought up some hill washouts on CRs 711 and 713. He acknowledged they're probably worse after snow and ice events because of salt.

"Salt's not good on gravel roads," Kempker agreed.

Salt mixed with the cinders tends to soften road material; and soft material washes out more when snow and ice thaws, especially when there's rain as well.

The discussion caused Kempker to raise the issue of adding a building to the Road & Bridge yard. Any traction material, cinders or sand, not mixed with salt freezes outdoors. That means the material cannot be loaded, and therefore is unusable with the road trucks.

"That would be beneficial," he said, adding he estimates it would take $8,000 to $10,000 to put up such a building.

Questioned by Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin, Kempker said, "It would help to get the salt out of the cinders. It's not really paying off."

The issue is worse when freezing precipitation happens with temperatures in the 30s. Colder conditions would keep the material frozen.

* Rock has been hauled on CRs 303, 424, 507, 508, 509, 515, 521, 602, and 604; service has been done on Graders #01 and #04, and Trucks #27, #34, and #39; trees were cleared on CR 521 near the Sestak Bridge; and grader operators have been active on CRs 303, 315, 316, 317, 412, 424, 508, 515, 521, 532, 622, 703, 716, 727, 735, and 754.

Osage County Building and Grounds Janitorial and Maintenance Worker John Kennedy presented a $750 offer from Midwest Electronic Systems, Inc., of Columbia, to inspect the smoke detectors in the Osage County buildings. The commission approved.

* Kennedy replaced batteries and reactivated one alarm by himself. It went off when a worker was using a grinder on the floor in a jail cell and stirred up some dust. "It's working fine now," he said.

* Heritage Tractor, in Jefferson City, is unable to make an appointment for a John Deere-certified technician to inspect the generator at the Osage County Administration Building. According to Kennedy, the company refuses to consider a date until crews catch up with their backlog in the shop.

"I'll call [them] myself," said Griffin, acknowledging the county might have to look elsewhere for service. "That's crazy they can't schedule an appointment."

* Towner Communications is still working on the phone in the Osage County Courthouse elevator. They still plan to establish a line direct to the Osage County Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

* Kennedy called attention to the ceiling of the front porch at the courthouse. Recent heavy precipitation caused a good deal of material to fall on the sidewalk in front of the main door. Birds are beginning to nest there, and, "It's really starting to leak," said Kennedy. "We need to at least get that roof fixed."

He added concern for the face of the building, especially mortar joints. Plans are in the works for repairs to be made come spring or summer; but Kennedy said it's urgent to address some of the building's deterioration.

Osage County 911/EMA Director Andrea Rice invited the commissioners to attend some of the ProQA "Kickoff" sessions Feb. 18-20. All stakeholders involved with the recently purchased emergency dispatch software are invited. They will be briefed on its installation and the training of EOC personnel. "The first day would probably be the best," she said.

* Rice handed out material pertaining to Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG). She intends to apply for help with new portable radios. They are particularly useful during mutual aid events. "The radios we have are from 2006, and they're just out of date," she added.

* She's also writing a grant application to Ameren Missouri, hoping to get help purchasing the IncidentView App and monitors. IncidentView provides address and location help, as well as automatic vehicle location. It could help the EOC determine which car is closest to an address calling for help. It would also assist the responder with best directions to the location.

"Several grants are going on right now," she added. She mentioned one for help purchasing backup equipment coming due in March.

* Rice requested some payout for vacation time she has been forced to forfeit. There have been some glitches in the T-sheets program calculating this time; but the big deal is she can't justify getting away.

"I can't use it right now," she asserted, citing the ProQA roll out. "Every time I schedule vacation, it just doesn't work out."

Commissioners approved her request.

Griffin passed on news from Osage County Sheriff Mike Bonham. "The jail cell really turned out nice," said Griffin. "The sheriff invites [the commissioners] to come over and look at it." He was referring to the recent repairs and renovation to a shower stall in one of the cells.

* The West Central Commissioners quarterly meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday, March 19, at Wilmore Lodge in Lake Ozark.

"We miss quite a few of these because they're a long ways away," observed Griffin. "This one's close enough, maybe we ought to go."

"We go to very few of those," agreed Kliethermes. "I'd like to go to this one."

Deputy Clerk Valerie Prater mentioned some business scheduled for the regular commission meeting that morning; but Glavin countered, "We can come in later that day,” to take care of it.

* Commissioners reviewed Use Tax Distribution Notices. Use Tax collection was down $6,050.18 from January 2019. Regular sales tax was down $56.20. Additional county collections were up $4,023.62. 911 tax collections were up $4,024. Additional County General Revenue was up $2,253.98.

* Griffin reported on the Osage County 911 Advisory Committee meeting held Monday, Feb. 10. The main topic was the coming vote on the 911 Continuation Sales Tax. Five town hall meetings will be scheduled at Linn, Chamois, Loose Creek, Westphalia, and Meta to promote the issue on the April 7 General Municipal Election ballot.

* The scheduled commission meeting Thursday, Feb. 13, was canceled while the commissioners attended County Commissioners Association of Missouri (CCAM) training.

* The Gasconade Valley Enterprise Zone (GVEZ) board meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in the Airport Terminal Building at the Rolla National Airport in Vichy.

* Candidate filing for the Aug. 4 Primary Election begins Tuesday, Feb. 25. That is also the first day for absentee voting for the April 7 General Municipal Election.

* The Osage County University of Missouri Extension will host a dinner at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Linn Community Christian Church. Osage County Clerk Nicci Kammerich and the commissioners are invited to attend. Various speakers will address agricultural plastics recycling.

* The Missouri Presidential Preference Primary Election will be held Tuesday, March 10.