VIENNA — Emails were sent last week and calls were made to restaurant locations in Maries County asking the owners to consider applying for funding recently made available through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

President Joe Biden signed the law March 11 and it includes a significant amount of funding for restaurant businesses which were negatively affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Maries County Commission asked the county’s IT Coordinator, Shane Sweno to prepare an email to be sent to the county restaurants. Those who did not have emails are supposed to contacted via telephone. 

The funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund totals $9.5 billion and will be administered by the US Small Business Administration. Sweno also included in the email the SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund Program Guide and the SBA Form 3172 RRF Sample Application. 

Eligible businesses could begin applying for relief May 3. The priority period for restaurants owned by minorities and women extends through May 24. After that all business owners are included in the pool. Applications will be accepted until the funds are exhausted. 

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said he knows restaurants were hard hit during the pandemic and this federal money has been made available to reimburse restaurants for losses sustained. “They just as well take advantage of it,” Stratman commented.

In the letter prepared by Sweno, all restaurant owners are encouraged to seek assistance from the SBA and apply for the available funds as soon as possible. Stratman said he “very much appreciates the small business in Maries County and hopes they can withstand the economic challenges we are all facing” because of the pandemic. 

Metal Detectors 

Stratman said he would like to set up a meeting with Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman and Major Scott John to talk about courthouse security. In times such as these, he thinks at the very least they can look at what might be needed to upgrade courthouse security. Also, to explore how much it would cost and if the county can afford to implement some security measures, such as a metal detector to scan people as they enter the building. 

Currently, the courthouse has been outfitted with security cameras. Stratman asked about looking into buying a metal detector for the front entrance. There also is a handicap entrance that will be open during regular courthouse business hours that should be considered as well. Would they need two metal detectors? Stratman said a problem he sees is if the county has a metal detector, it would have to be staffed by someone, possibly a sheriff’s deputy. 

The commissioners talked about the many people who come into the building to use the license office. Other busy times are court days when judges are working in the courtroom and there are many people in the building. Also at tax payment time the courthouse is a busy place. Stratman said a metal detector would need to be staffed by a person and maybe because of that, the metal detector might only be used on court days. 

“People who come into the courthouse expect to be safe here,” he said. 

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre asked if the metal detector would have to be calibrated. Sweno said he thinks so, maybe a machine might need to be calibrated each time it was used. Stratman said Circuit Clerk and Recorder Mark Buschmann  should be at the security meeting, too. 

A meeting of the group would be an opportunity to hear other opinions and to exchange ideas. Stratman said it will be a closed meeting as the group assesses potential vulnerabilities. “We need to check into security and see if we need to do anything,” he said.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said if they bring up security as an issue, then they will have to do something. Fagre Googled the cost of metal detectors and the equipment he looked at ranged from $60,000 for a free standing metal detector to $3,800 for a hand-head metal detector. Drewel commented a qualified person such as a sheriff’s deputy would be needed to staff the metal detector at the door. 

Stratman said he would contact Major John about setting up a meeting.

911 Tax

Last week the county commissioners officially approved placing the 911 surcharge on cell phones question on the April 2022 Election ballot. The language will be similar to what was used in 2019 when the commissioners asked voters to approve the surcharge to support 911 services in Maries County. The $1 monthly fee will be on any cell phone devices billed in Maries County with proceeds of the surcharge to be used for 911 operation costs. All three commissioners agreed the additional revenue is needed to keep adequate 911 service in the county. Currently the 911 fund is supported by revenue received on a monthly surcharge on landline telephones. This source is rapidly decreasing as more and more citizens opt to disconnect their landlines and exclusively use their cell phones. The county will have to subsidize any expenses not covered by the landline surcharge.

In the county’s 2021 budget, revenues for the year were estimated at $174,460 and estimated expenses were $174,448. There budget has an estimated end of the year balance of $19,362. A budget is merely a guess of what revenues and expenses will be. Any financial shortfalls or unexpected expenses will have to be paid from general revenue funds. 

Maries County residents who do not have a landline pay nothing for the county’s 911 operations. 

In April 2019, there was an 11.57 percent voter turnout for the Municipal Election. The county’s Proposition A, a $1 per month fee on cell phones to pay for 911 services, was defeated by 47 votes with 322 Yes (45.87 percent) and 369 No (52.56 percent). The majority of the county’s voter precincts voted down the cell phone fee for 911. Vienna and Hodgeville were the only two precincts that passed the county commission and sheriff’s petition to voters to approve the cell phone fee for 911. At that time, Heitman and the commissioners vowed to run the 911 cell phone surcharge question again and to work harder educating voters about how important it is for public safety. 

Land transfer

Fagre reported securing the signatures of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kasper in order to transfer some land from them to Maries County, which is needed for construction of the new BRO bridge. The bridge is on MCR 608 over Little Tavern Creek. Fagre said they hope to begin construction at the site in late summer. 

Flood money 

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers reported receiving a check from FEMA for Road One in the amount of $27,405.72. This is disaster assistance for the 2017 flood when roads and crossings were damaged by flood waters. Fagre said the sites already have been repaired and the money is a reimbursement from the federal government. He is still waiting on the 10-percent reimbursement from the state of Missouri. 

Big price

As the commissioners were signing invoices for payment, Stratman commented about the Missouri tire fee on a dump truck tire, which was 50 cents on a large tire that costs $513 each. In comparison, a regular vehicle tire has a Missouri tire fee of $2.