OSAGE COUNTY — Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters demanded during the Aug. 18 Osage County Commission meeting that more resources be dedicated to repairing roads on the east side of the county, where he said regular maintenance has come to a halt as crews continue cleaning up storm damage.

“I’m not going to sit back and just get neglected over here,” Peters said. “We’re going to have to do something. We’re going to have to hire dump trucks, and we’re going to have to do something differently. I’m not getting any maintenance over on my end. I mean, absolutely zero.”

Peters asked Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin and Western District Commissioner Dale Logan to establish a plan for addressing damage caused by repeated storms.

Logan asked which work needed to be tackled first.

“Culverts,” Peters said. “There’s no sense in putting any rock on any road until you pull the ditches and get the culverts fixed. Absolutely. If we’re putting white rock on the road, creek rock on the road, you might as well be dumping it right in the creek.”

Griffin pointed to work completed on CR 303 as an example of the importance of drainage. He said a section that had routinely remained wet stayed clear after crews pulled the ditches and crowned the road, despite recent heavy rain.

Logan said the county could not wait until hundreds of damaged culverts were replaced before adding rock because roads must remain passable.

Peters said crews should instead completely repair one road at a time, replacing its culverts, pulling its ditches, and then adding rock before moving to the next road.

He said he was not frustrated with Road & Bridge Foreman Neil Mantle or county road employees, but with the repeated storms, fallen trees, and rain that have kept crews from making progress.

“At some point, we have to gain on this because my maintenance is gone,” Peters said.

Peters cited CR 315 as one of the most urgent problems. He said he met with two residents there on Aug. 14 and found a 400- to 500-foot section of road washed out, with a drop of approximately two to three feet that prevents an ambulance from passing.

The adjacent creek is filled with gravel, including deposits six to eight feet deep in some locations, Peters said. Because the area is too narrow for the county’s wheel loader and dump trucks to work effectively, he proposed hiring a contractor with an excavator to remove material from the creek and use it to rebuild the road.

Peters said the county cannot obtain a permit to remove trees from the creek, so that portion of the work would also have to be contracted. He planned to meet with a contractor to obtain an estimate.

The county’s Federal Emergency Management Agency damage assessment includes lining the creek bank with shot rock to protect the road, Peters said. Griffin cautioned that the county should confirm the work is permitted before placing rock along the bank.

“I’m asking you as presiding commissioner: What do we do with that then?” Peters asked.

“I don’t know what you do,” Griffin said. “I’d have to go look at it and see what we’re up against.”

After reviewing Peters’ photographs of the damage, Logan agreed Peters should obtain a quote for a contractor with an excavator and dump trucks to repair the road.

Peters said residents elsewhere in the Eastern District have waited as long as a year for routine culvert work.

“Those are two examples that people have been patient for a year,” Peters said.

Commissioners also discussed purchasing a hydraulic breaker, which they referred to as a chipper, for use when crews encounter rock while installing culverts.

Griffin said the county needed the chipper before purchasing a proposed pressure-washer for the Road & Bridge Department.

Peters agreed that the chipper was needed but said most culverts could be installed without it.

“If there’s 500 culverts to be replaced, 485 can be done without that chipper,” Peters said. “We need a chipper. We do. But we need culverts in the ground.”

Griffin said the county has more Road & Bridge employees than it did a year or two ago and hoped two could be assigned to culvert replacement.

Peters called for a dedicated pipe crew to install three culverts per day. He said the county’s mini-excavator should no longer be used to load storm-damaged trees once roads are open.

“We need to demand three culverts a day, every day, the whole work week, every day,” Peters said. “Our pipe crew needs to be putting in three culverts. That’s the only way that’s going to get done. If we don’t delegate them to that, it’s not going to happen.”

Logan questioned whether the department had enough employees to dedicate two or three people exclusively to culvert work.

Peters acknowledged that deeper or longer installations could prevent crews from meeting the three-per-day goal but said crews should be able to complete three shallow, 15-inch culvert replacements in a day.

• Sheriff Michael Bonham told the commissioners the department received approximately $14,000 from the sale of one of its Dodge Durangos, less than the approximately $20,000 officials had expected.

• Griffin said materials needed for repairs at the jail were expected to take seven to eight weeks to arrive.

• Representatives of Higginbotham Insurance and Group Benefit Services also discussed partially self-funded employee health insurance with the commissioners and other county officials.

Logan emphasized that the county was only gathering information and was not preparing to move to a self-funded plan this year.

• Aaron McVicker of McClure Engineering discussed potential bridge projects with the commissioners.

Logan requested a Bridge Engineering Assistance Program study for the bridge on CR 522.

McVicker said an application had already been submitted for replacement of a bridge on CR 726 but advised the commissioners to confirm that it was complete. Applications are due by Sept. 30, and selections are expected to be announced in December.

McVicker said the Highway Bridge Program is federally funded. If the county replaces an eligible bridge using county funds, it can receive soft-match credit equal to 80% of the project cost for use toward another eligible bridge project.

Logan moved to hire McClure to complete the study for bridge No. 1310000 on CR 522. Peters seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

• Eric Reichel of Remote Computer Services addressed concerns about the county’s email system.

Health Department Administrator Kim Sallin said her department could access only 90 days of encrypted email history through the Barracuda system. She also said approximately half of emails from one employee arrived through the secure-message system, requiring additional time to open them.

“Can you get rid of it?” Logan asked. “Barracuda sucks.”

Reichel said the automatic encryption feature appeared to be responsible for many of the problems, and said he could disable automatic encryption, leaving employees responsible for encrypting messages when necessary. He warned that an unencrypted email could be read if intercepted.

Encrypted emails remain accessible through the Barracuda system for 90 days, and that limit cannot be changed. Reichel said he can restore archived messages to an employee’s inbox for up to three years. After that, only a printed copy can be retrieved.

• Recorder of Deeds Cindy Hoffman told the commissioners the latest group of restored county record books had been delivered that morning and were in great condition. She invited the commissioners to inspect them.

“Don’t hesitate thinking I won’t ask for more money,” Hoffman said.

“Cindy, I always said you did a great job running the place down there,” Griffin said.

• Dudenhoeffer announced that the commission scheduled its tax levy hearing for Tuesday, Aug. 25.

• Concrete poured for the Pentecostal Bridge passed inspection, and the contractor planned to pour the remainder of the deck on Aug. 19.

• Peters moved to increase Road & Bridge’s credit card limit to $6,000. Logan seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Treasurer Valerie Prater said Legends Bank is great about applying the county’s credit-card payments immediately, which helps keep credit available for use.

ROAD & BRIDGE

Mantle told the commissioners chip-and-seal work on CR 801 was expected to be completed that afternoon.

Crews were building the crown on CR 303, and the contractor planned to finish preparing and chip-and-seal the road to just before CR 301 on Aug. 25 and 26. Mantle said the intersection itself needs to be excavated and rebuilt with larger rock.

• Mantle presented a final quote for a propane-powered pressure-washer, including installation and travel costs, and said he was awaiting another quote for a chipper.

Approximately $1,700 could be removed from the chipper quote if the commissioners chose not to equip it for use with both the skid steer and mini-excavator.

• Logan asked whether the county had received additional information about an incident on CR 608 in which a grader backed into a car. Mantle said he had not received an update.

• The road report for Aug. 11 to Aug. 17 showed trees removed on CR 241, 310, 416, 424, 435, and 705; brush mowers were working on CR 207, 241, and 242; personnel continued to clean up brush and trees from storms, and grader operators were active as follows: G01 (CR 416, 608, and 609), G03 (CR 210, 211, 212, 821, and 822), G04 (CR 610, 613A, 623, and 625), G05 (CR 727, 706, 726, 728, 733, and 734), and G06 (CR 271, 274A, 274B, and 314).

• Whipper W43 (2007 John Deere 6615 w/Alamo Machete Mower) was serviced in house. Dump truck DT32 (blue 2004 Peterbilt), plow truck PT39 (2005 Ford F550), and trailer TRLR54 (2025 Dolittle) were serviced out of house.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Administrator Sallin said the Health Department’s Quick Care clinic saw 21 patients during its first week and that operations went well.

• The department hired a medical assistant who had previously applied for an office-support position. The employee is scheduled to begin on Aug. 31.

• Sallin said Environmental Public Health Specialist Rachelle Kuster was present when a resident visited the department with a sewage complaint. Sallin investigated the complaint on Aug. 17 and wanted the commissioners to know that the Health Department also handles sewer complaints.

• Sallin also questioned the department’s propane usage and billing, and told commissioners she would be looking into invoices from the previous year to see if one had been mistakenly charged to her department.

Sallin said the total cost for 2025 was dramatically higher than in previous years and that she was reviewing the records to determine what happened.

• Peters asked whether Sallin attended the St. George Picnic on Aug. 16. Sallin said the department provided vaccines, literature, and a prize wheel at the event.

911/Emergency Management

911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman told commissioners he hired a dispatcher from Gasconade County who was already trained and had been Gasconade County’s GIS person.

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) storm paperwork must be submitted by Sept. 2. Hoffman agreed to take the lead on completing it with Mantle’s assistance.

FINANCIAL

• Bills totaling $364,098.48 were approved by commissioners, with the following totals by department: 911/EMA ($69,133.26), Assessor ($3,881.31), Building & Grounds ($967.25), Circuit Clerk ($438.54), Collector ($448), Coroner ($230.28), County Clerk ($2,942.80), Election ($12,763.08), Health Department ($6,062.09), Juvenile & Family Court ($2,716.21), Misc. ($7,958.12), Prosecuting Attorney ($6.70), Public Administration ($835.38), Road & Bridge ($66,054.18), Sheriff-Jail ($19,888.45), Treasurer ($508.26), and Road & Bridge Misc ($163,275.60).