cwillard@wardpub.com

VIENNA — Maries County is one of 25 Missouri counties participating in joint damage assessments with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) following severe storms and flooding that began on March 30.

Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office announced in a press release last week that the counties and FEMA will undergo the assessments of roads, bridges and infrastructure.

“Our state and local public works crews have been doing an incredible job reopening roads and making initial repairs to bridges, low water crossings and other infrastructure, but it is clear that the extent of the damage across the state will require federal disaster assistance,” he said. “Our State Emergency Management Agency, local and FEMA teams began assessing damage to homes and private property yesterday and will be working through the week. Next week, we will begin joint PDAs to document and tally the damage to public infrastructure and validate what we believe is a clear need for federal Public Assistance.”

Maries County Emergency Management Director Mike Elliott said during the April 17 county commission meeting that Maries County qualified for public assistance because the storms, which did most of the local damage on April 4, caused more than $38,000 in damage to county property. No residents reported getting at least 18 inches of water in their homes, so the county did not meet the requirements for individual assistance.

The county commissioners and road district employees planned to meet with FEMA employees on April 22 to spend the day noting the damage. Road district and emergency management personnel photographed damage and the road crews tracked their hours spent fixing storm damage and the amount of supplies used in the process.

Also during the meeting, the commissioners signed a contract to continue the county’s service with the CodeRED mass notification system. The contract meets the $3,000 budgeted for the service and the county’s message limit has increased to allow for more messages if necessary.

Solar Panels

The commissioners spoke with Nick Barrack, an employee of CSE Enterprises in Rolla, at the April 14 meeting. He sells residential solar panels, and the commissioners planned to ask him some questions about the solar industry as their skepticism about the Vichy Solar commercial project persists.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel has mentioned concerns about the solar panels possibly contaminating the underlying ground several times. The commissioners began by asking Barrack what is in solar panels.

Barrack brought a packet explaining the solar panel recycling process. Silicon is the basis for the panels, which also include glass, plastic, aluminum, copper and less than 0.1 percent of silver and other metals.

The commissioners noted that the process of recycling the panels would not be so relevant to them because what happened to the panels at the end of the project would be addressed in the landowners’ decommissioning agreements.

Barrack said recycling the panels typically has a negative value to the panel’s owner. Many panels retain value after a decade, so selling them on the used market may be worth more than scrapping them.

Jill Hollowell, an environmental programs specialist with the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC), came to the meeting to listen to the discussion. She said a resource she would like to see made available to landowners is a document preparing them for negotiations with solar companies wanting to lease land.

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman likened what he had heard about the negotiations to the “Wild West.” The commissioners have discussed how they perceive Vichy Solar to be unforthcoming, particularly in how little information they know about the contracts landowners are signing for the project.

During the April 17 meeting, the commission received another request from Vesper Energy, the company working on Vichy Solar, asking if the county had planning and zoning regulations. The commissioners had ignored the question a few times before but considered responding as the project drew nearer.

MRPC Executive Director Bonnie Prigge stopped by the meeting as the commissioners discussed how to respond. She said that though the county does not have planning and zoning aside from floodplain permits, the commissioners could create county road standards that would require entities using county roads to return them to certain conditions.

At the April 21 meeting, the commissioners decided to respond to Vesper Energy’s letter with an acknowledgment that the county does not have planning and zoning regulations, but any alteration of county roads requires permission from the commission.

REp. Onder’s Office

Sarah Williams, a constituent representative for freshman United States Rep. Bob Onder, joined the commission at its April 17 meeting to see if the commissioners had any concerns to be addressed in Washington, D.C.

Williams said she wanted to make regular visits to Maries County because she expected there would be many questions about things happening federally. She noted that Onder serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She shared updates on a couple of things Onder has done in Congress since the last time someone from his office came to a commission meeting.

Onder has filed three more bills since the last legislative update in March. At the time, he had sponsored H.R.2075, which would “prohibit the Federal Government from conducting or supporting any research involving human fetal tissue that is obtained pursuant to an induced abortion” and “prohibit the solicitation or knowing acquisition, receipt or acceptance of a donation of such tissue;” H.R.1945, which would make America’s National Churchill Museum in Fulton a National Historic Landmark and H.R.1837, which would require bonds that immigrant workers would forfeit if they overstayed their visas. No action has occurred on any of the bills since they were recommended to committees in early March.

H.R.2387, introduced on March 26 with four Republican cosponsors, would “prohibit Federal funds from being used for sex-trait altering treatments for minors, and for other purposes.” No action has occurred since its referral to the House Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, Education and Workforce and Ways and Means committees.

H.R.2571, introduced on April 1, would “amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to exclude from the definition of health insurance coverage certain medical stop-loss insurance obtained by certain plan sponsors of group health plans, and for other purposes.” No action has occurred since its referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

H.R.2572, introduced on April 1 with one Republican cosponsor, would “amend the National Labor Relations Act to require secret ballots and employee participation in the election of representatives.” No action has occurred since its referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Williams also highlighted Onder’s letter to the U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general asking for an audit of the service in St. Louis and his letter to President Donald Trump requesting a federal disaster declaration after severe storms and tornadoes in March.

The commissioners led with solar panels when Williams asked if they had questions. Stratman again compared interactions with solar companies to the Wild West and wanted to know if any information was available from the federal government about what the panels contained.

Williams said she had been unable to obtain an Environmental Protection Agency study on the effects of weather events on solar panels.

Drewel asked if a solar company could invoke eminent domain to take land for a project.

Williams recommended speaking with a lawyer on the subject. She planned to let Onder know about the commission’s concerns about solar panels. She also asked if they were for or against solar development.

“I don’t know if I’m in favor or not because I don’t know what’s in it,” Drewel said. “It would prosper the county to a certain extent, but what are you buying?”

Sales Taxes

The commissioners thought they may have found a solution to the county’s 911 funding future after a recent meeting with the director of the state 911 board, but those plans could be on hold because of the tax extension cycle.

Earlier this month, voters passed a 10-year extension of the one-third of one-half cent county law enforcement sales tax. A similar question will likely appear on next April’s ballot as another sales tax is set to end next year if it does not receive an extension.

A one-half cent sales tax, originally passed in 2001 and extended in 2006 and 2016, provides two-thirds of its revenue to Citizen Safety. One-sixth of the money goes to General Revenue while the road districts share the other one-sixth. The tax brought the county $380,672.05 in revenue last year.

The commissioners expressed uncertainty about pursuing a new sales tax to support 911 when an already existing sales tax would also need to pass a public vote. They discussed holding a special election for a 911 sales tax, but the county would likely be the only entity holding an election and would have to bear the full cost.

Other Business

Although the county building may not remain on the city of Vienna’s list of properties on its demolition grant application because it is out for bid, the commission agreed to donate the county’s 13 remaining MRPC grant planning hours to the city before they expire in June. Stratman said he wanted both the county commission and sheriff’s office to provide letters of support for the demolition project.

The commission reappointed Ray Schwartze to serve as one of the county’s representatives with MRPC.