OSAGE COUNTY — Osage County commissioners met only once last week, on Oct. 2, as Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin and Western District Commissioner Dale Logan attended a Floodplain Management Workshop on Sept. 29-30.

At Thursday’s meeting, the commission approved a recommendation from Bartlett & West to extend the completion deadline for the Pentecostal Bridge near Westphalia to Dec. 4, 2026.

Logan relayed the firm’s concerns about in-stream construction restrictions due to darter fish, when coupled with time constraints for tree removal due to bats, made bidders concerned about meeting the previous completion date of Sept. 11, 2026. “They certainly indicated it would be a substantial increase in (cost) if we stuck with the September (date),” Logan explained.

Griffin made the motion to approve, and Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters seconded. Peters clarified the reason: “They don’t have enough time for the birds, the bats, and the fish to get that all that work done between the two time frames.”

Commissioners approved the extension unanimously.

• From there, conversation turned to Missouri’s senior citizen property tax freeze, an issue that has continued to spark public debate. Logan said he recently fielded questions from a resident who believed Senate Bill 190 was already “the law of the land.” He told her, “What I understand, what we’ve been told, there is some unconstitutional things with it. SB3’s come into play. And I said ‘We don’t want to waste county money, taxpayer money — what we think could be up to a couple hundred thousand dollars.”

Griffin noted that other counties had already faced challenges. “Boone County, Cole County, they’ve had to change things to comply … We didn’t want to do anything until the dust settles,” he said.

Peters added his support for the concept but not the timing: “I agree with the theory. I agree with the tax break … I want to do it when everything’s properly laid out.”

Griffin emphasized that all citizens are welcome at commission meetings. “We have never told (a) person that they couldn’t come in and ask the question. They’re always welcome,” he said.

• Commission Clerk Brandy Boessen made the commissioners aware of some delinquent phone bills from the sheriff’s office.

When asked, Interim County Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer explained the issue may have stemmed from invoices not being sent or forwarded to her office. “If they send us the bill, we can figure out what number it belongs to, (then) we pay it,” she said.

• Dudenhoeffer also pressed employees to complete their “form fire” health insurance applications to allow the county to solicit bids. “Please do it before the end of the week,” she urged, stressing that only completion status - not private details - was visible to the clerk’s office.

• Treasurer Valerie Prater asked permission to reissue a check to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office after the original went missing in the mail. “Somehow, I’ve lost the mail,” she admitted, requesting approval to put a stop payment on the old check and issue a replacement. Commissioners approved her request.

• Commissioners also voted to pay roughly $130,000 for “soft match” money from Boone County out of the county’s Capital Improvements fund instead of Use Tax, maintaining consistency with prior payments.

• Sheriff Mike Bonham notified commissioners of a $50,000 Blue Shield grant awarded to his office. Bonham said the funds would be used to replace a 2007 one-ton utility vehicle used for hauling trailers and equipment, an expense he would not otherwise be able to carve out of his annual budget. The old truck may be reassigned for county use once the new vehicle arrives.

• Bonham also spoke at length about boating enforcement and safety. He said deputies patrol area rivers 10 to 15 times per year, especially on holiday weekends, but warned that federal funding cuts could reduce those operations. “We just got notified by the Coast Guard that they’re cutting the funding … by millions. So we may reevaluate the program,” he explained, stressing that alcohol was a factor in nearly every local boating death.

Bonham also warned about the dangers of ignoring safety protocols. “Life jackets do save lives. There’s no doubt about it,” Bonham said, urging boaters to use them.

He added that Missouri law is weaker than federal standards regarding life jackets for children. Logan chimed in, recalling his own approach as a parent: “When my kid was in my boat, he had a life jacket on … I can’t imagine not wanting to have a life jacket on your kid.”

Bonham also described the importance of engine kill-switch lanyards: “If that thing’s at full throttle and you pull three Gs, it will throw you out, and that thing starts making the death cycle … it will slice and dice you up.”

• Commissioners also reflected on community events. Logan praised a recent farm-to-table dinner organized by FFA students. “Basically everything was from Osage County,” he said, calling the meal and presentation impressive. “I thought the chicken was incredible,” he said. “I thought they did a good job.”

• As the meeting wound down, commissioners briefly discussed the idea of holding an evening “State of the County” meeting to allow working residents a chance to attend. Logan said, “I’d like to have a meeting sometime, kind of a State of the County. Maybe once a year or once a quarter.”

Griffin recalled that similar efforts had been tried years ago but drew little attendance. The commission agreed to consider the idea for later this year.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin presented her report, beginning with the success of a recent health fair at Diamond Pet Foods. “We served over 80 individuals,” she said. “We offered blood pressure, height and weight, and then determined their BMI … We had our foot and nail lady there so anyone who wanted their feet examined” could get an evaluation. She said the department also gave “probably around 60” flu shots during the event, all paid for by the company.

• Sallin said turnout was also anticipated to be strong at Quaker, with more than 115 people signed up for flu shots. “That will keep us very busy,” she said.

• She asked commissioners to allow the department to open two hours later the following Tuesday (Oct. 7) so staff could handle insurance verification issues during a clinic at State Technical College, explaining that many students are insured through their parents and don’t have their insurance cards, requiring staff to make phone calls to parents to confirm eligibility. Commissioners approved the adjustment.

• She also announced that a new breastfeeding peer counselor and office support staffer had been hired and would begin on Oct. 14. “Super, super excited,” Sallin said. “She comes from the Department of Health and Senior Services, so she has a really good idea of how things work, the grants, all that stuff. Really, really good fit for that position.”

• Two contracts were presented for approval. The annual WIC contract totaled $66,534.42. A second renewed the Safe Cribs program, which provides portable cribs and education to qualifying families. “It is a contract that is in place in case we were to need it. We have not had to hand out a crib in several years,” Sallin said. Both were approved.

• Finally, Sallin discussed snow removal at the Health Department. She said last year’s contractor had already reached out — something that had never happened before. “This is the first individual who has ever followed up with me that I haven’t had to knock and knock and knock on their door,” she said.

Commissioners encouraged her to set a firm deadline for bids. “Set a deadline,” Logan advised. “Need a bid by Nov. 1 or whatever, and if they don’t respond, then renew the contract with the guy that you had great luck with anyway.” Peters agreed: “You’ll be prepared … Eliminate that stress from yourself.”

FINANCIAL

• Bills totaling $213,010.16 were approved by commissioners, with the following totals by department: 911/EMA ($6,804.97), ARPA FUNDS ($11,112), Assessor ($4,491.47), Building & Grounds ($136.60), Circuit Clerk ($377.45), Commission ($6,327.47), County Clerk ($156.74), Election ($731.08), Health Department ($4,265.91), Misc. ($138,891.58), Prosecuting Attorney ($710.17), Public Administration ($974.23), Road & Bridge ($34,250.16), Sheriff-Jail ($2,890.86), and Treasurer ($889.47).

• An income report for the County Clerk for the month of September showed a total of $278.50, including Liquor License ($84), Notary ($120), Plat Books ($70), and Misc/CC ($4.50).

• The end-of-month bank balances for September showed a total of $14,062,784.67, including ARPA Funds ($120,472.70, which have been fully allocated), AS23 - Assessment ($244,226.25), AX08 - Annex Building ($334,218.54), BG89 - Building & Grounds ($225,417.79), CC55 - Conceal Carry ($6,750.23), CI88 - Capitol Infrastructure ($1,583,423.61), DS61 - DSSSF Fund ($130), ES48 - Election Service ($17,787.18), FC46 - Family Court ($33,135.73), GR01 - General Revenue ($1,458,101.25), HD23 - Health Department ($228,787.30), IS63 - Inmate Security Fund ($18,762.47), JR60 - Jail Renovation ($2,371,029.29), LACTF - Local Assistance ($113,415.65), LE25 - Law Enforcement ($2,159.47), LERF - Law Enforcement Restitution ($6,212), LF38 - Civil Fees Fund ($4,632.94), JR60 - Jail Renovation ($2,371,029.29), LACTF - Local Assistance ($113,415.65), LE25 - Law Enforcement ($2,159.47), LERF - Law Enforcement Restitution ($6,212), LF38 - Civil Fees Fund ($4,632.94), OE22 - Emerg. Management ($83,301.90), OPIO - Opioid Settlement ($103,729.70), PA18 - Bad Check ($15,310), PA26 Prosecutor Training ($5,179.72), PB21 - Pentecostal Bridge ($1,526,215.66), RB02 - Road & Bridge ($522,514.24), RF36 - Retirement ($96.27), RF42 - Recorder’s Fund ($39,941.98), RR30 - Rollback Reserve ($807,320.98), SE19 - Special Elections - ($5), SF49 Law Enforcement-911 ($472,830.62), SR25 Sheriff Retirement ($65), UT33 - Use Tax ($3,707,498.63), VD24 - Domestic Violence ($2,052.52), and HA56 - HAVA Elections ($8,060.05). Please note that not all of these funds are controlled by the county commissioners. Some are controlled by elected officials or committees.

The county also has $582,871.78 in CDs, including Road & Bridge ($111,145.86), Rollback Reserve ($444,946.19), and Law Enforcement-911 ($26,779.73).”