TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020

Osage County Health Department Administrator Susan Long introduced Lincoln University Nursing student Courtney Pfahl. She is in the practicum phase of her degree pursuit, doing some of that work in Osage County. "I'm happy to be learning what my county is doing for COVID," she said. Long added, "The students have been very, very helpful for us concerning this event we're dealing with."

* Long announced sign-in logs are in operation around the Osage County Courthouse and Annex, and spoke at length about the coronavirus, which is presented on Page 1 of this week’s paper.

* Osage County Road and Bridge Foreman Ron Kempker said the transmission synchronizers in Truck #32 are going out. Drivers are having to skip fifth gear, and it will head to the shop.

* Glavin said a culvert pipe on CR 274B has washed out and needs rock added around it. He also asked for some extra attention on CR 317.

* Kempker said the trees near the new bridge project on CR 274A are on his schedule. "We'll address it as quick as we can," he said.

* Osage County Second District Commissioner Larry Kliethermes asked Kempker if he was still working a lot near Meta. Kempker said yes, "We're just about done over there."

* Rock has been hauled on CRs 506, 507, and 508; debris has been removed from a box culvert on CR 423; a low water slab has been repaired on CR 734; and grader operators have been active on CRs 235, 261, 274A, 275, 303, 506, 507, 508, and other places where material has washed out.

* Due to necessary updates from old Windows 7 computers, the Osage County Assessor's Office now has five obsolete computers to dispose. Assessor Jerry Baker asked if it's okay to donate them to a library, Head Start, a school, etc. The commission approved; as long as it's not to an individual and the organization is non-profit. "I don't have a problem with it as long as" they don't go to a questionable recipient, said Kliethermes.

* A letter has been sent to Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Local Public Agency (LPA) Contact Kimberly Tipton in preparation for bids to go out on the Shawnee Creek Bridge project on CR 274A.

McClure Engineering Project Coordinator Aaron McVicker asked the commissioners for authority to advertise the bidding for the project. Notice will be in the Unterrified Democrat in the March 25 edition; and the bids are to be submitted Tuesday, April 21 at the commission meeting. The official deadline will be 10 a.m.

McVicker also discussed conducting a Bridge Engineering Assistance Program (BEAP) study on a structure near Shawnee Creek, also on CR 274A. Glavin wants the road bed widened, and McVicker said he would look at it. "We just want to get our feet on the ground and see what you want to do," he said.

* Commissioners approved Porter, Berendzen, and Associates, Inc., to go ahead with the architectural engineering for the Main Street entrance to the Osage County Courthouse. Repairs will be made to the columns and the front section roof, as well as the brick and stone masonry in the vicinity. Planning costs are not to exceed $8,000. They also approved advertising the bid, with Glavin dissenting.

* Bills from March 3 through March 17 were approved as follows by department: 911/EMA ($18,094.22), Assessor ($13,564.10), Building & Grounds ($4,503.89), Circuit Clerk ($288.41), Collector ($112.50), Commission ($171.19), Coroner ($200), County Clerk ($140.63), Elections ($12,401.76), Health Department ($913.62), Miscellaneous ($2,923.52), Other county government ($69), Prosecuting Attorney ($638.27), Public Administration ($84), Road & Bridge ($61,092.76), Sheriff-Jail ($11,778.17), Bartlett and West Engineering ($20,358.64), McClure Engineering (2,050.61); for a grand total of $149,385.25.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020

* Long introduced Lincoln University nursing student Macy Kinsey. Like Pfahl, Kinsey is doing her practicum, helping out in the Health Department Office.

Further updates on the coronavirus were presented to commissioners, and are included in the front-page story in this week’s issue.

* Kempker told the commissioners his crews are still trying to move rock; however, it's rained quite a bit. "If we can haul, we'll haul," he said, noting, however, that hauling heavy loads on soaked gravel roads can cause more damage than it can repair.

* Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin spoke of a damaged stop sign at CR 602 on Loose Creek Highway. It had been driven over. Kempker said it was being addressed as they spoke.

* Griffin also called attention to water running down CR 315 in the heavy rain. "We've gone down there to look at that and we've addressed it," said Kempker.

* Glavin asked for gravel on CR 274B, slab repair on CR 263, and more material on CR 231.

* Kliethermes wanted to tweak the policy for installation of culverts under driveways. The county has specifications for the kind and size of pipe; as well as the method and efficiency of installation. He's not satisfied with the way it's working now. The current policy is for the land owner to buy and install the pipe; then the county will inspect it and ditch to and from it. Kliethermes thinks the county should install it. Then the land owner is responsible only for buying pipe to meet specifications. The commission approved. "We'd be a lot better off it they buy the pipe and we put it in," said
Kliethermes.

"The purpose of all these culverts is to save the county roads," said Glavin.

* McVicker sent word Glavin's idea for the structure on CR 274B near the Shawnee Creek Bridge is workable. Glavin is interested in having the structure widened to help truck traffic since it's a common detour during flooding on Hwy. 100. It's near a curve which is hard for trucks to negotiate, and widening the road bed over that structure would be helpful. McVicker is going to pursue a BEAP study, saying, "I think it's plausible to do."

* Rice distributed a proposed amendment to the Callaway Energy Center SENTRY notification form, used for safety drills at the Ameren Missouri nuclear plant. No changes are to be made in the drills themselves; but classifications of certain data would be changed. Ameren is asking counties in the area to approve the changes; and the Osage County Commission concurred. "We should still expect them to be accurate," said Rice.

* Commissioners signed outgoing checks.

* All town hall meetings for the 911 Continuance Sales Tax have been canceled.

* The Municipal General Election scheduled for April 4 has been postponed to June 2. The deadline to file as a write-in candidate is 5 p.m. Friday, March 27.

* The last day to file as a candidate for the Aug. 4 Primary Election is March 31.