Commissioners discuss options for assisting in approving broadband service

Posted 3/6/21

MARIES COUNTY — This year, because of the COVID-19 crisis, the annual Missouri Association of County Commissioners training will be done online and the commissioners have until June to complete …

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Commissioners discuss options for assisting in approving broadband service

Posted

MARIES COUNTY — This year, because of the COVID-19 crisis, the annual Missouri Association of County Commissioners training will be done online and the commissioners have until June to complete it. It’s 20 hours of training that is delivered via email. If they don’t do it, they can lose $2,000 of their salary. The commissioners want to move forward and get it done soon.

At last Thursday’s Maries County Commission meeting, Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said he began watching the training information on his computer and he wanted to talk about what they as commissioners can do to help in the process to provide better broadband capabilities in Maries County.

Part of the information presented was from the CEO of Wisper Internet and a director of an electric cooperative who were talking about broadband expansion to improve internet speeds and availability. “They said to be proactive,” he said, asking if the county can develop a list of potential customers to provide to internet providers interested in building the infrastructure for expansion in the county. 

Stratman said if they could compile a list of ten or one customers in a square mile, it would make a difference. He wondered if such a list can be done with GIS. The companies which may do the expansion want information about where potential customers live and what their internet needs are such as if someone is working from home, or kids using internet for virtual school instruction. He thinks they could develop a form for people to fill out detailing their internet needs, such as for business, students, and social. “We sit here and say we need more internet and we haven’t done anything,” he said, adding this is what Bluebird asked the commissioners for when that internet company representative spoke with them.

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, is launching Starlink satellites, circling the globe with them and when its complete everyone in the world will be able to have high speed internet. Fagre was doing some Googling and said Musk’s company, Starlink, is a global communications constellation that could have nearly 42,000 satellites in place to serve the entire planet’s internet needs. Some 1,000 satellites will be enough to enable basic service. 

Musk’s company provides an unblockable internet service. Countries such as China use firewalls to wall off and block off its internal networks, servers and internet users from the wider internet. By doing this, China, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, India, Russia and more countries attempt to control the information their populations receive. With Musk’s Starlink, these counties may try to jam satellite signals, but sources say it is unlikely to work. 

Starlink Terminal has motors to self-adjust optimal angle to view sky. The instructions are simple—plug in socket, point at sky. No training required. 

During his Google search, Fagre said the cost for Starlink is $99 a month for unlimited, 300 mbps high speed internet access but there is a start-up cost of $500 for equipment. The service is anticipated to be functional later in 2021 and some locations already are using it. Texas will be first place in the United States, Fagre said. 

Stratman said in Maries County this would be a good option. There are some people who can’t get internet access because they are too far out, or down in a holler, or have some internet connection problem. It would be the most cost effective. He asked if it “will do us any good to talk to Three Rivers?”

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said the electric cooperative may think its too much money for it to invest if a big outfit such as Starlink comes in and takes over the internet service. 

Fagre said he knows of an electric cooperative that provides internet and it is instant and incredibly fast. He doesn’t know how Musk’s Starlink compares to it. 

Drewel said the prospective internet providers probably are “holding back because of Elon Musk.”

Roads

Drewel asked County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers if she’d heard back from MECO Engineering’s Scott Vogler on any grants or programs available to help pay for replacing low water crossings. There are programs to replace bridges, but Drewel is interesting in doing multiple small crossing repair projects. Rodgers said she sent an email but hasn’t heard back from Vogler.

A resident of who lives on MCR 621 near the West View Cemetery called saying the culvert is washing out and it has done this several times over the  years. 

A Maries R-1 bus driver contacted Fagre about water spinning in a hole on a bridge on MCR 609. He said they are aware of it and have checked it several times. The road crew is waiting for the water to go down so it can do something. 

Fagre said with the thaw also came up soft spots in the county roads. They have to be dug out and rock placed to fix them. 

Drewel has some questions about the special road districts and the money the county receives. Treasurer Rhonda Slone explained the money is paid in local taxes at the county collector’s office. The county road districts get one-fifth of the money, and the remainder goes to Belle and Vienna. She receives the special road district money monthly and the amount it is depends on what was paid in taxes and delinquent taxes in Collector Jayne Williams’s office in a particular month. “It’s different amounts depending on what she collected,” Slone said.

At the Feb. 22 meeting, Stratman said with the warm-up in the temperature, the streams thawed out fast. Fagre said not as fast as he thought as the county roads were slick. Rodgers agreed about the slick roads.

Fagre said the Highway N bridge over Rodgers Creek opened Wednesday after being closed for construction. 

Will not be paying

Stratman reported receiving a revised final statement from AT&T. It stated as of Feb. 2, 2021 the county’s balance was $3,047.03. The company was granting a credit of $848.24 so the county has a new balance owed of $2,198.76. Stratman said the county ended service with AT&T in 2019. He plans to contact the company ad inform them Maries County will not be paying the balance as they believe it does not owe it.

If someone needs help

Stratman restated if someone in the county needs help paying utilities following the severe weather MOCA can help. There are income and resource guidelines but MOCA staff can assist them in finding out if they qualify. 

There are other MOCA programs for weatherization, rent assistance, help for homeless people, job training, and head start. Stratman said if county residents know of someone who needs help, ask them to contact MOCA at the Richland office at 573-765-3263. Stratman said people can contact him as well.

Snow day

Fagre said they probably should have talked to elected officials, the supervisors of people who did not work on the snow day, Feb. 16 as some of the employees worked from home. The previous meeting the commissioners decided if people stayed home on the snow day, they can use vacation time because there were others who worked at the courthouse that day. 

Stratman said he made a decision on that day that there should be at least one person in each county office as it followed a four-day weekend. The license office did business that day. He spoke with two license office employees who said they didn’t think those who did not make it in should have to use a vacation day because the state called the snow day and told people to stay home. 

Fagre said they made a policy that unless it’s a state holiday, county workers are expected to be at work. He said there is no use to call around, they have to be at work. But, he said because of the confusion, they will be paid this time. 

Stratman said it should have been made clearer to them so they will be paid for Feb. 16 and not have to use a vacation day. 

Buildings and grounds

Custodian Dave Juergens spoke to the commissioners about the boiler that provides heat to the courthouse. A technician from Solomon Boiler Works, Columbia, told him there are numerous things wrong with the 1994 furnace. The problems range from valves not opening or closing, shot coil, regulator needs replacement, a bad sensor, air in the lines, and leaking water. The coil needs to be replaced. 

Stratman said during the cold weather there was not a problem with the furnace until the last day.  He said the company will do the inspection at the same time as the repairs are made. Since the repairs will require the furnace to be shut down and all of the lines to be “bled,” they will wait until warm weather to do the work. Juergens said he will work with the technician. Stratman said it’s a good idea as he will “get educated” on the furnace. 

Before Juergens came, Stratman told him the had issues with the sump pump. He would like to have a unit to be ready to go when needed. But, he doesn’t want a cheap one and asked for a price. 

At the following meeting, a price was quoted at $2,000, which the commissioners thought was excessive. After Juergens reviewed the specifications he was able to locate one through the City of Vienna for about $1,100. Stratman said he’d like to have one ready to go in the basement sewer if they need it because it can be a big mess.

There was a malfunction with the vacuum cleaner used for the courthouse. Juergens had it repaired for $40 and it worked less than a day before breaking down again. It was a residential vacuum cleaner and for the courthouse needs a commercial one is best. Juergens found one for about $300 from Ozark Vacuum and received the okay to purchase it.