MARIES COUNTY — The Maries County Commission was busy last week dealing with a variety of issues, from a flooding sewer problem in the jail, discussing the newly live 911 system, and expanded information about spending the remainder of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money. 

On Monday, it was reported the culprit to the sewer flooding in the basement jail was caused by E-cigarettes being flushed in the jail toilet, which got stuck in the sewer line and collected more sewer debris and overflowed. It made a mess. 

Because the E-cigarettes sold in the jail’s commissary have identifying numbers the commissary attaches to an inmate’s name, they found out who was doing it. It was the same inmate who previously flooded the jail in the same way. 

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said he doesn’t think they will need to dig up the sewer pipe now. He previously wondered why all of a sudden they were having this problem. The flushed E-cigarettes were found when they did a clean out of the line. The E-cigarettes are rigid and about like flushing a fat pencil. 

On Thursday, the commissioners were concerned the sewer mess had not been properly cleaned up and were precise about what they wanted done. Some of the new flooring recently put down will need to be removed, cleaned and dried out before it can be replaced. This will prevent a continuing oder and potentially mold formation. Custodian Dave Juergens told them the inmates said before the flooding in the jail, they noticed a gurgling in the shower. 

The commissioners were concerned about all of the stuff in the boiler room, and also the nasty sewer debris still on the floor. They asked Juergens to get on it quickly with bleach water and to pull up the floor pieces that had been underwater. He also was asked to get the nasty, soiled items out of the boiler room and the items that need to be thrown away. 

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said the only way to stop this jail flooding is to stop selling the E-cigarettes to the jail inmates. 

Stratman said he knows the E-cigarettes are popular with the inmates and they generate money for the commissary, but they need to take them away for awhile. They discussed about the “alpha male” in the jail who may have enough influence to stop the inmate who is flushing the E-cigarettes. Stratman contacted Chief Deputy Major Scott John and asked him to take away the E-cigarettes from the inmates because the sewer flooding is not good and its costing the county money to deal with it. He told John the E-cigarettes are not making enough money to pay for the sewer the plumber bills. 

Drewel said the sewer line goes from a four-inch pipe to a three-inch pipe than back again to four-inch. He thinks the overlap inside the pipe where it couples with the different size pipe is the place where the E-cigarettes are getting stuck and clogging the pipe. 

Local Public Authority

The commissioners discussed whether or not all three of them need to complete the Local Public Authority (LPA) training with MoDOT to qualify for working with the BRO bridge replacement program. The county currently has a BRO bridge being replaced on MCR #608 in Road One. 

The LPA is six hours of training that deals with the BRO process, starting with how to choose the BRO bridge, the building process and all that’s involved all the way until the bridge is finished. 

Stratman said he completed the training in 2021 and it is a two-year certificate. He will contact the Missouri County Commissioners Association to see if Drewel and Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre also need to take the training again. 

On Thursday Stratman reported only one person has to take the LPA training and they are up-to-date because Stratman has already taken it. He did it last summer online, watching several hours of webinar about it. MoDOT is going to require two additional hours so next time it will be a five-hour webinar. 

Drewel said the engineer is the person who guides the commissioners through the BRO process. 

Drewel said he has concerns the annual conference for county commissioners in Columbia in early February, which they are required to attend. He thinks is potentially may be a Covid-19 spreading event. County commissioners from all over the state will be there, plus the many vendors that come to the event from near and far.

911 live

IT Manager Shane Sweno was pleased to report to the county commission the new 911 system “went live” last Thursday. He said they are testing the new text to 911. They sent letters out about it. There is more to add to the new system, such as CAD software and the radio project. Sweno said Maries County’s 911 system now is one of the top 10 in the state of Missouri. They are installing the equipment in three phases and the first phase is finished. These improvements were made possible by grants and President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) investment. 

Also, Sweno said the sheriff’s office bought 14 in-car computer set-ups and are using 11 of them. He’d like to use one of them in the assessor’s office. He said Assessor Dana Simmons needs a new computer as her computer is about five years old and out of warranty. It will cost about $1,300 for a decent desktop computer and adding a monitor. This new equipment will be used for the assessor’s new GIS system, which is new technology the office didn’t have before. 

The in-vehicle laptops have connectively to do live updates. They cost about $2,100 a unit and that is just to mount them and does not include the cost of the computer. This connectivity also would benefit the fire departments and ambulances, Sweno said. Stratman told him, ‘There’s no point to leaving it in a box.” 

Sweno said, “The CAD system works better if everybody is on it.”

Final Rule

Stratman had information from the attorney hired to help Meramec Region counties determine what the county’s ARPAa money can be spent for. Maries County’s money, to be paid over a two-year period, will total $1.6 million. Already the county has spent about $700,000 of it on new 911 Dispatch Center equipment and connectively equipment for the sheriff deputies’ vehicles. About $900,000 remains, although the balance of the total amount will not arrive in the county’s bank account until spring.

The rules have been lessened somewhat. Stratman said they can’t use the ARPA money to save “for a rainy day” nor can it be used to prop up a pension fund. He thinks it can be used for road and bridge work and also for replacement of loss revenue. 

The final rule provides an option for recipients to use a standard allowing for revenue loss in which recipients are permitted to elect a fixed amount of loss up to $10 million that can be used to fund government services. 

Snow removal

The commissioners opened bids on snow removal for the courthouse. They said if it is a light snowfall, the courthouse custodian can remove the snow from the entryways and sidewalks. If it is a heavy snow, they will pay for a professional to do it.

Struemph Lawn Care bid $90 each time, $40 to use ice melt, and $40 to pre-treat with an ice melt application. He is licensed and insured and if selected will give a $10 discount for the first time.

Blake Shiver bid $50 an hour.

The commissioners selected Shiver to remove heavy snow. 

Budget hearing

Work on the county’s budget is in progress. County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers set Jan. 31, 2022 as the date for the final budget hearing. The budget is supposed to be finished and sit for 10 before the hearing, so they will complete the budget work by next Friday. 

April 5

The Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, April 5. There are races for school board positions in the Maries R-1 School District where three persons have filed for two three-year positions. They include incumbents Joe Barnhart and Dave Long and newcomer Kacie James. There also is a race in the Dixon R-1 School District as Zachary K. Shepherd, Douglas W. Roam, and Derek A. Rollins all have filed for a three-year position on the board. 

Maries County is asking voters to approve a $1 surcharge on cell phones to support the county’s 911 dispatch system. The commissioners want to have two people in the dispatch center at all times. 

Entities where no election is needed because no term is expiring or those without contested board positions include MOAD, Maries R-2 School District, Rolla Rural Fire Protection District, and Ozark Central Ambulance District. 

Rock Island Trail meetings

Stratman reported there will be a meeting in Freeburg Jan. 25 at the American Legion Hall starting at 5:30 p.m. which will be an informational meeting about the Rock Island Trail. The meeting is sponsored by the Missouri DNR and is about the development of the Rock Island Corridor. Stratman said landowners along the trail are interested and have questions about what will happen when the trail opens up and passes through their land. Two other meetings will be held also. 

Air handler

Stratman said the bid on the mini-split air handler for the judges/jury room off of the courtroom upstairs, was $3,000 higher if the unit uses the courthouse boiler. They can save money with the mini-split at $5,967. These are popular now. 

Drewel said it’s probably better to have it be a separate system. Stratman said the unit is easy to set up.