OSAGE COUNTY — Early in the Dec. 30 Osage County Commission meeting, Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters made a motion to hire Steven Crawford as Assistant Foreman for $27 per hour. The motion passed unanimously.

• Interim County Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer provided several insurance updates, including changes to cybersecurity coverage. She said a previously quoted premium had been reduced after further review. “It was something about a tax - a surplus lines tax for cyber. I don’t know what that is. I didn’t even realize it was a thing until Emma came back and said, ‘Hey, I got them to drop this,’” she said. “Emma, I think, deserves a little kudos.”

She said the revised premium was approximately $5,300 (down from $5,565.03), and reminded commissioners that coverage levels had increased from the previous year.

Dudenhoeffer also reported changes to other insurance lines. “Our MOPERM insurance did increase by almost $30,000 but our MAC - the (workers compensation) - decreased,” she said, adding that the decrease was tied to fewer claims.

• Commissioners confirmed Dudenhoeffer’s role as budget officer, a formality that aligns with duties she was already performing. 

ROAD & BRIDGE

A significant portion of the meeting involved discussion about chip-and-seal with Bink Blankenship of Bink’s Trucking and Excavating, out of Sullivan, who will be providing a quote to chip-and-seal problem areas on several county roads.

Blankenship explained preparation steps, materials, and cost ranges for road projects. The contractor described how counties typically prepare roads by placing and shaping base rock before priming and sealing. He explained the difference between oil types used on new roads versus reseal projects and discussed how proper drainage and compaction affect longevity.

On lifespan, the contractor said performance depends heavily on keeping water out of the road base. He said he has seen roads last more than a decade when properly prepared.

Commissioners asked about cost per mile. The contractor provided a ballpark estimate based on recent work. “We just did three miles for Gasconade County last year, and we averaged, I think, $74,000 a mile, is what it was for the oil and all the trap rock and laying it, and doing all our work and all our prepping,” he said.

He noted that ditch work could increase costs depending on conditions. “If I go look at the road, and it looks like we need to dig it from one end to the other, that can go up a little bit,” he said.

The contractor advised against using a motor grader for snow removal on newly chip-and-sealed roads due to down pressure, and suggested alternatives such as sand or sawdust for traction and limiting salt use due to deterioration concerns.

Road and Bridge Foreman Brad Sneller described the importance of base preparation and crowning, citing work completed on portions of CR 512. “So when we redid that chip-and-seal ... we hauled base rock in before he chip-and-sealed that, to crown it,” Sneller said. “I know we hauled rock for a couple weeks straight back there, just to get a base before, and it’s beautiful back there. That road is beautiful.”

Sneller contrasted that with areas where chip-and-seal was applied without correcting underlying issues.

Commissioners identified several specific roads for the contractor to review and they made plans to inspect them in person that morning, while Bink was available.

• Sneller said cold weather limits what crews can accomplish. “If the weather would stay warm while we were working, then that would help out a lot,” he said.

Sneller also explained that gravel roads are easier to address during winter months than sealed surfaces, which can’t be patched during cold months. “If it was gravel, you know, you can still put rock on it and blade it out and all that,” he added.

• He said at least one whipper remained down, and the mechanic hadn’t had time to look at it yet.

• Commissioners asked about the possibility of hiring a full-time mechanic. Sneller questioned whether the department could pay enough to attract someone. “You know what we pay out (for vehicle maintenance) in a year’s time,” Peters asked.

Sneller said he knew the cost was significant, but said his department lacks the equipment needed to support a full-time mechanic. “You’d have to keep everybody else out of this tools, and that service truck we got now isn’t going to work for that kind of thing because it’s two-wheel drive,” he said.

• Commissioners later discussed enforcement challenges related to speed limits on gravel roads, noting that excessive speeds contribute to road damage and increased maintenance.

Peters agreed vehicles traveling at high speeds on gravel roads cause damage by “throwing rock back off the roads,” and Western District Commissioner Dale Logan cited safety concerns when people fly down gravel roads. “Yeah, it’s like the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ out there,” Sneller agreed.

• Sneller reported that an attempted sale of a motor grader did not go through and that another county had expressed interest. “(It) didn’t sell, but I had a call from a commissioner from Texas County wanting to talk about working out some kind of deal on it,” he said.

Commissioners discussed the highest bid received, which was in the high $30,000 range, and whether to retain the machine as a backup.

Sneller said staffing remains a limiting factor. “That’s my problem right now, is I ain’t got enough guys to do the work. I got all kinds of work,” he said, adding that recruiting has been difficult.

• Quarry rock was hauled on CR 634 (101.86 tons); road work was done on CR 634; and grader operators were active as follows: G02 (706), G04 (634), G05 (415, 416), & G06 (263).

• Dump truck DT32 (blue 2004 Peterbilt) was serviced out of house.

• Contact was received from citizens regarding tractor placement on CR 303.

• The week of Christmas was a short week, due to three paid holidays.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Osage County Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin said flu cases were rising locally and statewide. “Flu cases in the county, but really all over, are raising tremendously,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of flu cases lately, so just a reminder to wash your hands, cover your cough, stay home if you’re sick, and it’s not too late for a flu shot. We are still providing those.”

A separate story on the flu appears in this week’s paper.

• She said the department’s supply of at-home COVID tests will end due to expirations and funding cuts. “We have, for a long time now, been able to provide at-home COVID tests. People could come by and just grab them,” she said. “The current ones that we have, they expire on the first of January of 2026, and the funding has been cut. So, when those expire, we won’t have any COVID tests to give out anymore.”

• Sallin also told commissioners that the Howard County Health Department Administrator and a nurse plan to visit Osage County to observe how its electronic medical records system is used. “They have the same electronic medical records system as we do. So they want to come down and see what all that we do with it,” she said.

• She addressed a parking lot lighting issue, explaining that she corrected the system’s internal clock. “I went back there to get the information off of the system that’s in the back, and noticed that the time set on it was way off, and so I was able to set the time to the correct time,” she said. She said the fix appeared to resolve the issue. “They were on when I came in at 630 this morning,” Sallin said.

FINANCIAL

• Time sheets were approved by commissioners.