OSAGE COUNTY — Osage County commissioners learned Tuesday that a mistake in the rebar order for the Pentecostal Bridge deck, which Western District Commissioner Dale Logan attributed to an engineering issue, will likely delay completion by about three weeks.

“They’re planning to start pouring,” Logan said, adding there was a strong chance the project would not meet its 180-day deadline.

Logan said the commissioners will likely have to decide whether to assess liquidated damages, but that he would not personally support doing so because the mistake was an engineering issue rather than the contractor’s.

“It was not the contractor,” Logan said. “Tony has been great and it’s been a really good project.”

Logan said MoDOT’s Joanie Prenger has also been an advocate for the project and noted that her husband had met with a group Friday to discuss ideas for the CR 508 slab.

Osage County Treasurer Valerie Prater presented a cover letter and pay application for Gene Haile Excavating. She said the county owed the contractor $1,095,607.34 because it had not received an invoice since May.

“I’ve never in my treasurer life seen a million-dollar check,” she said. “My jaw kind of dropped.”

Commissioners approved the payment.

• On the subject of FEMA reimbursement for storm damage, Prater told commissioners she had spoken with the Gasconade County Treasurer, who said the county accounts for those expenses through its normal Road & Bridge account. Discussion followed about whether salaries should be included in storm damage costs, with Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin and Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters arguing that although the salaries had been budgeted, the storm damage work had not.

• Shelley Klebba, representing Christmas on Main Street, outlined plans for this year’s event, themed “A Star-Spangled Christmas.”

Organizers requested permission to close the courthouse square Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 12, for a temporary synthetic ice skating rink measuring 48 feet by 28 feet.

Griffin asked about insurance, and Klebba said the city of Linn required event insurance.

Klebba said the rink would cost just under $7,000.

“We’re not looking to make money,” she said. “We want to get sponsorships and pour that money back into the community.”

Griffin said organizers should make sure there would be no conflict with court activities.

Logan recommended they also speak with El Carnaval Mexican Restaurant, and Klebba said they would also contact Megalinos Donuts.

Klebba said the World Bird Sanctuary will bring an eagle that Friday night, but there will not be reindeer this year.

Griffin asked organizers to check back with the commission Tuesday after speaking with local vendors and confirming court scheduling.

Klebba asked Griffin whether he and his wife would be willing to clown at the event, and Griffin agreed if organizers could provide a heated building for the balloon pumps.

She said she planned to ask Classic Buildings for a portable building to store skates overnight, and Peters suggested adding a heater so the Griffins could use it as well.

• Sheriff Michael Bonham discussed the possibility of sharing a vehicle between the Sheriff’s Office and Road and Bridge, with Road and Bridge using it during winter and the Sheriff’s Office during summer.

Bonham said the vehicle was purchased through a Blue Shield grant and has about 500 miles on it. If the departments share it, he said, it will need to be washed regularly to avoid rust. He also raised questions about fuel and insurance.

Bonham said vehicles acquired through the Department of Defense surplus program are offered to other agencies before being sold.

He said the Sheriff’s Office received another Blue Shield grant that will cover part of the cost of a new vehicle, with the remainder coming from the department’s Special Operations account. Funded through the sale of equipment acquired through the Department of Defense surplus program, the account offsets costs that would otherwise fall to county taxpayers. Under the department’s three-year vehicle replacement rotation, next year is scheduled to be a three-vehicle year, but the county will only have to purchase two vehicles.

Bonham also noted that when he started with the Sheriff’s Office, deputies supplied their own firearms. He said all weapons are now owned by the Sheriff’s Office and have been paid for by grants and other opportunities.

“There’s a lot of things that you guys may not see because it doesn’t come out of the budget or general revenue,” he said.

• The Sheriff’s Office received approximately $12,800 last month for housing Cole County prisoners. Bonham said he expects revenue from inmate housing and Proposition P to exceed projections.

Bonham said the county could charge more if the jail had full-time medical staff, but estimated the annual cost has increased from about $34,000 in 2017 to about $176,000 today. Telemedicine would still cost more than $100,000 annually.

Logan suggested the county look at establishing a new detention center.

Bonham said there had previously been discussion about a regional detention facility that could house both regional and federal prisoners, noting the reimbursement rate for federal prisoners is $110 per day.

Logan said he intended to pursue the possibility, adding that locating a detention center near Chamois might provide additional incentive for a bridge across the Missouri River.

Casey Chastain of Higginbotham, who was waiting to address the commission, said he handles detention insurance for Daviess County and could put Osage County in contact with that board.

• The commission also approved paperwork for a $64,536.00 Highway Safety grant for the Sheriff’s Office.

• Casey Chastain and Alan Fay of Higginbotham met with the commission again to discuss switching the county’s healthcare coverage to their agency. They presented a three-year agreement but said the county could cancel it if they did not perform as promised.

Logan said he was satisfied with the proposal and moved to switch to Higginbotham, but Peters said he was not ready to make that decision. The motion died for lack of a second.

• Jason Vanderfeltz of BFW Engineering reviewed three options for replacing the damaged slab on CR 508, which has been reduced to one lane: a bridge, a box culvert, or a new low-water slab similar to the existing structure. He said the proposed slab would be about 40 feet long with three 2-foot-by-12-foot openings to carry normal stream flow while allowing water to pass over the crossing during higher flows, much like the current slab.

Griffin asked how much weight the proposed slab would support because concrete trucks regularly use the road. Vanderfeltz said it would not require a weight posting and a 20-ton load would not be a problem. Commissioners also discussed the road’s heavy traffic, including milk trucks and tractor-trailers.

Logan asked whether the project could qualify for MoDOT soft match credit. Vanderfeltz said he believed it could, but would confirm that with MoDOT staff before finalizing his recommendation.

Vanderfeltz said engineering and design work was expected to cost about $20,000, although he would provide a final scope and fee after confirming survey and geotechnical requirements. He estimated design could be completed in about three months once the county was under contract and the survey and geotechnical work were finished.

Peters also asked Vanderfeltz to evaluate a similar low-water crossing on CR 734, saying he wanted to “get that on the radar” because it would also need replacement. The commission unanimously approved having BFW prepare a study and cost estimate for that crossing.

• Patrick Kliethermes addressed the commission regarding the proposed closure of CR 736.

Kliethermes said he had obtained the 12 signatures necessary to proceed but was still missing the signature of one adjacent landowner required to close the road at the preferred location. He presented two legal descriptions based on where the road would be closed, depending on whether the final signature is obtained.

Peters said closing CR 736 is a significant financial issue because repairing storm damage is estimated to cost approximately $500,000.

Kliethermes said he would speak with the remaining landowner in an effort to obtain the signature.

• Commissioners also voted to adopt Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin’s self-assessment and employee evaluation forms for use by all departments.

• Peters said brackets are no longer manufactured to attach older snowplows to newer trucks. He said adding a spreader bed, plow, and hydraulics to a new truck costs about $28,000, so the county should consider purchasing used plow trucks that are already equipped.

ROAD & BRIDGE

Road and Bridge Foreman Neil Mantle reported that a driver in a service truck nearly struck Road and Bridge employees while they were repairing washout damage.

“They were trying to fill in that hole on the upper end so it wouldn’t wash out underneath there,” Mantle said. “And then they were putting rock on the lower end and trying to shove rock up underneath that. And between the concrete blocks and the backhoe, about got it. He said he had her locked up as tight as locked up could get.”

“He could see a good distance through there, too,” Logan said. “It ain’t like that’s a blind corner or something, you know?”

Mantle said the truck carried no company identification.

• Mantle also told commissioners about an incident on CR 303 involving a side-by-side vehicle. After the department dug out a soft spot and filled it with shot rock, Mantle drove back to check on the crew.

“I got back in the car, and I was getting ready to pull out,” he said. “Well, all of a sudden, this side by side just came flying past me... I never even seen him until he was past me, flying.”

Mantle said he followed the vehicle’s tracks to the driver’s driveway. Peters said he contacted the driver’s parents, and the situation was resolved without involving law enforcement.

• Mantle also discussed the department’s aging deck-over trailer. What initially appeared to be a bent axle turned out to be a larger problem, and replacing the axles and wheels would cost about $20,000. Mantle said the frame remains in good condition, but repairing the trailer would require considerably more than simply installing a new axle.

Peters questioned whether the county should invest that much money and suggested replacing the trailer instead.

Mantle recommended replacing it with a gooseneck trailer, saying it would be easier to use, although Peters said he was not a fan of hauling a backhoe on a gooseneck. Mantle noted the trailer is used frequently to move the backhoe because the lowboy is often impractical.

• Mantle said he had completed pricing information for surplus equipment the county plans to sell. The Purple Wave representative is expected next week to photograph four pickup trucks and a conveyor before listing them for auction.

Mantle said he planned to send an employee to weed-eat around the conveyor once temperatures cool down so it can also be listed.

• Mantle reported work on CR 303 is nearly complete. He said crews have a few more loads of gravel to haul before moving to a soft spot near CR 301, where they plan to excavate the area, install shot rock, and prepare it for traffic.

Logan said the chip-and-seal contractor plans to begin work on CR 801 during the first week of August so the project can be completed before school starts. Peters said it would be good to finish the work before traffic damages the road again but noted it has held up well so far.

• Mantle said both graders assigned to the Meta area are working with rock from a new quarry near Meta. He said the quarry recently installed certified scales and reduced the price of one-inch base rock from $9 to $8 per ton after reaching agreements with neighboring counties.

“They’re very, very nice people,” Mantle said.

• Mantle asked commissioners how they wanted to proceed with FEMA-related repairs on CR 416.

His proposal would raise about a mile of roadway between three low-water slabs so floodwater would no longer use the road as a creek.

Peters said he wanted to inspect the site before making a decision. He questioned whether raising the roadway was necessary, suggesting the county could continue repairing it after major rain events instead of investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in reconstruction.

“I don’t think we need to put $500,000 in it,” Peters said. “If we can spend a day every time it rains eight inches, just take one day to fix it.”

Mantle cautioned that simply maintaining the road would allow it to continue settling.

Griffin agreed with Peters, saying a major investment could still be washed away by the next significant flood.

• Mantle also asked about the department’s budget for FEMA-related work, saying he needs to know how much funding remains available before deciding which repairs to complete.

He said the latest budget report showed approximately $215,000 remained in the county’s annual rock budget, although recent work on CR 303 had reduced that amount.

• Peters later discussed damage to the headache rack on a six-month-old International truck after it struck a large tree limb.

Mantle said the employee responsible is normally cautious, but the situation had been addressed. “He got a nice talking to,” Mantle said. “I said if it happened again, he was getting wrote up.”

Mantle said he was able to repair the damage in house.

•  Mantle also updated commissioners on work planned for CR 305, where crews planned to replace a culvert. Griffin noted that the property owner had mowed the area and pulled up the Missouri 811 utility marking flags.

Mantle said obtaining replacement utility markings has been difficult. “It’s been like pulling teeth to get them to put flags out,” he said.

•  He added that staff had finally reached someone at AT&T regarding underground pedestals but described the process as frustrating, saying there were “like 25 different hoops” to go through before one could be moved.

• The road report for July 21 - July 27 showed creek rock was hauled on CR 303 (192T), 306 (128T), & 309A (112T); quarry rock on CR 303 (1,048.42), 508 (18.81), 516 (304.06T), & 551 (228.08T); road work on CR 303 & 508; tree removal on CR 233, 241, & 551; brush mowers were working on CR 232, 233, 234, 235, & 236; and grader operators were active as follows: G01 (CR 551), G03 (CR 801, 804, 807, 809, 811), G04 (CR 512, 516, 521, 523, 632), G05 (CR 704, 705, 706), & G06 (CR 316, 317).

• Grader G03 (2018 12M3 AWD) was serviced in-house.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin attended the meeting with Samantha Casteel, the new Quick Care’s nurse practitioner.

• Commissioners discussed temporarily posting the Health Department’s new office hours on the entrance door until staff determine whether the schedule will remain permanent. Sallin said the department plans to maintain the new hours for at least six months before determining whether changes are necessary.

• Sallin said KOMU had contacted the department about filming a television story on the new Quick Care service and expanding healthcare services in rural areas. The interview is expected to take place Friday, although a time had not yet been set. She said Dr. Rakestraw is also scheduled to meet with Samantha that morning to discuss logistics and answer questions.

• The Health Department is interviewing applicants for an office support position after a recent resignation. Sallin said the position has generated more interest than any opening she has posted in her six years as administrator, even after applicants learn it is a minimum-wage position. She said most applicants learned about the opening through social media.

• Casteel asked commissioners about a provision in the employee handbook requiring employees to establish residency in Osage County within six months. She said that would not be possible because she and her family had recently purchased a house in Phelps County. Commissioners voted to permanently waive the residency requirement for her.

Sallin noted that Samantha had “very thoroughly read the manual,” prompting discussion about the number of revisions being made to the county’s employee handbook.

• Sallin emphasized that existing Health Department services will not be reduced when Quick Care opens Aug. 10. Patients needing routine services, such as blood draws, will continue to be accommodated, although wait times could increase if Quick Care is busy.

The Health Department will offer sports physicals beginning Aug. 7.  Peters said several people he had spoken with were unaware the department was offering sports physicals and asked whether additional advertising was planned. Sallin said the department has promoted the service with signs, social media, and posters at the community pool party. Commissioners discussed additional outreach through schools, and Sallin said the department would contact school districts about distributing the information through their text alert systems.

Sallin said the department’s busiest season is about to begin with back-to-school vaccination clinics followed by flu clinics throughout the county.

FINANCIAL

• County Aid Road Trust (CART) distribution received from the state of Missouri for the month of July was $91,542.68, including Motor Fuel Tax ($72,587.96), Motor Vehicle Sales Tax ($14,004.09), and Motor Vehicle Fee Increases ($4,950.63).

• Time sheets were approved by commissioners.