OSAGE COUNTY — A larger-than-usual group gathered for the Osage County Commission’s April 23 meeting, where discussion focused almost entirely on a CR 631 bridge replacement that stalled several years ago when the owner of an adjacent property refused to grant the necessary rights-of-way, but is again a possibility because the land has changed hands.

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Coordinator Joanie Prenger, Bartlett & West  Engineer Austin Johnson, former Western District Commissioner Larry Kliethermes, Road & Bridge Foreman Neil Mantle, and nearby landowners Brian Luebbert, Brad Howard, Adam Howard, Chris Eiken, and Jamie Eiken were present for the discussion.

Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin said the purpose of the meeting was to revisit the bridge, which was engineered about six years ago, and to look at whether any adjustments or agreements could be made before moving forward.

“We wanted to see if there was some kind of agreement we could come because we’re having tractor trailers run over that road,” Griffin said. “The school buses won’t go across it anymore, because it’s kind of a sketchy bridge and everything. And I know Brian had some concerns, and I agree with him, about getting pretty close to his house, I was wondering if we could shift the bridge, something, or come some kind of agreement.”

Griffin added that his biggest concern was access for emergency vehicles and school buses, so emergency vehicles didn’t have to take a longer alternate route to reach homes in the area if the bridge was eventually closed.

“That could happen,” he said. “Because I’ve been called a couple times when tractor trailers with loads of hay going across that bridge — one last year — dropped down, so we had to close it. We’re lucky we could fix it pretty fast.”

Griffin and Prenger explained time constraints related to federal funding are also a factor.

“The way federal funds go, they paid to design it and start it, and whatever else. So once you stop that, you have 10 years to either pay back the money or move it forward,” Prenger explained.

The county currently has approximately $65,000 invested in engineering the bridge, which will not be reimbursed unless the project proceeds within the next four years.

“The biggest problem we have here, this bridge is going to end up getting closed down, and then we’re going to have a big old problem,” said Western District Commissioner Dale Logan. “So, we really need to come up with a solution to — obviously, we want to save the county that $65,000, not have to pay that back to MoDOT — but most importantly, keep that road open and in good shape.”

Much of the conversation focused on what flexibility, if any, exists in the bridge design.

Prenger said that if federal funding is used, the project must meet federal standards, which generally require wider bridges than older structures. She said one-lane or narrower replacements are typically not approved, and discussion indicated the bridge would likely need to be built to a width of at least 22 feet, and more likely 24 feet.

“We’re not going to give you federal funds to build another one-lane bridge,” Prenger said. “That defeats growth. Population only grows, and you can’t come back for 25 years and be like, ‘We really need a bigger bridge.’ So, that’s why we have the (width) standards. If they want to build it their self, they can, with their own funds, (do) whatever they want.”

Griffin said the new bridge would likely cost more than $700,000.

Johnson said the federal money comes with a lot of requirements, but there’s usually enough money involved that it’s more cost-effective for the county to meet them than it is to do it with their own funds. “They end up spending more money for less bridge, because the federal dollars come with strings, but it comes with enough match money that it’s worth it,” Johnson said.

That width requirement prompted questions about how the project would fit within the existing area.

While all landowners seemed cooperative but concerned about loss of property, Luebbert’s concern was how close the previous design would bring the bridge and road to his house, and how far it would encroach into his front yard. “Just like everybody else in this room, nobody wants to lose land,” Luebbert said.

“Oh, I understand that completely,” Griffin said.

The owners of the property on the other side of the road were willing to consider accepting a larger portion of the bridge on their property to keep it out of Luebbert’s yard, but worried about how the loss of acreage and the easements would affect resale value should they decide to sell. Johnson said shifting the bridge that way created a new set of difficulties.

“Our concern at the time is that the hill on that upstream side is a little bit steeper, and trying to catch down and not create more flooding upstream,” Johnson said. “We were worried we’re going to end up with a longer bridge and end up with a fair bit more construction cost out of out of shift in that upstream instead of downstream.”

Johnson also explained that some of the survey markers placed during the previous design were for maintenance rights-of-way, to provide Road & Bridge with access to the bottom of the bridge when necessary, and for temporary construction easements.

The design also included straightening out the approach to the bridge by shifting the road.

Luebbert agreed to consider half the increased bridge width on his property, provided the engineers kept the bridge as narrow as possible, built a retaining wall instead of a grade leading to the bridge, left the curve in the approach, and installed gates in his fence for the maintenance easement so the field could still be used.

The property owners on the other side said they were willing to work with the county to find a solution, and discussed including the easement in a future sales contract if they decide to sell. “We all think it needs to be done. It’s just a matter of what’s the best way to limit impact,” J. Eiken said.

Additional factors raised during the meeting included the need for easements, environmental considerations, and floodplain requirements, all of which could affect both the design and timeline of the project.

Prenger said the approval process alone could take about six months, with right-of-way acquisition roughly two years out and construction at least three years away.

She also noted Osage County has the most square footage of poor bridge decks in the area covered by the Meramec Regional Planning Commission.

• Sheriff Michel Bonham asked the commissioners to approve the purchase of a new vehicle for his office. Treasurer Valerie Prater presented the bill, saying, “I’ve been asked nicely to present you guys with a bill for a new Dodge Durango today,” Prater said, adding that, if the commissioners approved the bill, an exception would be made to cut the check that day.

“Who’s this for?” Logan joked.

“It’s for Road & Bridge, eventually,” Bonham quipped back, to much laughter.

Although Logan teased Bonham about bicycles being cheaper than cars, with Bonham retorting that toy road graders were cheaper than full-sized graders, the request was approved.

• Logan asked Bonham how uniforms paid for by the sheriff’s office are recovered if a deputy leaves the department. Bonham said they’re included in an inventory list and employees sign an agreement saying they will return all items on the list if they leave. Logan later indicated the county was considering doing something similar for Road & Bridge employees.

• Bonham also said the jail should bring in more revenue than projected for boarding prisoners from other counties.

• Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters again broached the subject of moving to meeting one day a week, and asked Interim County Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer what day would work best for her office.

“My concern is, when we do bill week, that you guys review and approve bills, and that leaves my office very little time to write checks, review, and print without errors,” Dudenhoeffer said.

Peters said the commissioners could approve bills first, allowing the clerk’s office three to four hours to complete the checks for signing. Dudenhoeffer agreed that could work and said Tuesday would be best for her office.

Commissioners noted they meet with citizens nearly every day to discuss concerns, and changing the meetings to one day a week would allow them more time for that.

ROAD & BRIDGE

Logan commended Road & Bridge employees for their work over the weekend keeping roads open after a storm downed trees and caused brush to wash up on the Sestak Slab. Logan said crews worked from early evening until approximately 10 p.m. Saturday night to reopen Sestak Slab, which was “not completely blocked, but would have been dangerous.” Logan said he took them food, since crews had not stopped to eat, and that Mantle was down there again at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, clearing out the brush above.

“They did an excellent job,” Logan reiterated.

Osage County 911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman said Linn Fire Protection District helped clear fallen trees from roads as well, since Road & Bridge was spread thin.

Road and Bridge Foreman Neil Mantle said he had three intern applicants from State Tech for the summer and asked commissioners if interviews could be scheduled promptly. Griffin directed him to set them up as soon as possible.

• Quarry rock was hauled on CR 203 (31.22T), 205 (152.56T), 206 (153.52T), 207 (15.43T), 211 (77.75T), 212 (94.92T), 221 (44.81T), 302 (47.53T), 304 (30.93T), 306 (127.56T), 724 (144.67T), & 725 (145.94T); private culverts were replaced on CR 501 & 610; road work was done on CR 501, 602, 724, & 725; trees were removed on CR 315, 318, 521, 542, 551, 610, 736, & 742; Sestak Slab was cleared off, brush mowers were working on CR 315, 316, 317, 318, & 319; and grader operators were active as follows: G01 (CR 424, 505, 521), G03 (203, 205, 207, 211, 212, 300), G04 (522, 524, 610, 611, 612, 637, 638, 613B), G05 (724, 725, 732, 733, 734, 754), 7 G06 (271, 274, 303, 310).

• Dump truck DT56 (2025 International HV507) was serviced out of house, and truck T49 (2015 Kenworth T800) was serviced in house.

• Compliments were received about grading jobs done on CR 424, 505, and 725.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Osage County Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin said the health Department will be open on May 2.

• Sallin asked for confirmation she should send drug test results to the employee’s supervisor. The commissioners said yes, but also asked that they be sent to the commissioners for departments that report to them.

Mantle asked that she review drug testing requirements with MoDOT to ensure compliance with CDL requirements. Sallin asked respectfully if someone else could do that, as she is working at capacity, and Griffin said he would.

Sallin asked where the bills should be sent, and the commissioners directed her to send them to the department the tested employee works for.

• She asked if the Towner Communication Systems contract was approved for her to sign, and was told it was.

911/Emergency Management

Hoffman said he had about 20 cases of paper than needed to be shredded, and other departments had more, so he was going to load a trailer and take it all to the shredding location.

• Hoffman presented the commissioners with three bids for permanent security cameras for the Hwy 100 property. A bid of $4,850 from MidMo Security was approved.

Griffin said he’d received multiple compliments from citizens saying how much they appreciate Hoffman’s work cleaning up that lot.

FINANCIAL

• Time sheets were approved by commissioners.