VIENNA — The Maries County Commission was much less interested in possibly installing an electric vehicle charging station across from the courthouse after reviewing the potential cost of matching a grant for the facility.

During the June 6 meeting, Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman asked the other commissioners about a possible use for the property the county bought earlier this year across the street from the courthouse. A building currently stands there, but the county plans to tear it down. Stratman suggested a grant could cover the cost of demolition if the county received one to install a charging station.

After the associate commissioners said it would be worth it for the county to look into grant opportunities, Stratman contacted the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) to get more information, which he shared during the June 10 county commission meeting.

The first step in obtaining a charging grant is commissioning an engineering plan for the awarding party to seriously consider a grant application. The county would pay the full cost of the engineering plan.

MRPC gave Stratman a copy of St. Robert’s proposal for a Federal Highway Charging Fuel and Infrastructure grant that would bring a charging station to the city. The commissioners reviewed the documents, which placed the cost of the project much higher than anticipated. At a 20 percent match, the cost for the county to undertake a similar project would exceed $100,000.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel had some other concerns about a potential charging station project. He questioned if a grant would have a minimum requirement for the land to remain a charging station. He said he would not mind a five or 10-year minimum, but he would not want to tie the land up for too long to prevent the county from making other developments.

Another concern Drewel had was if the lot was big enough for a charging station and how the logistics would work for drivers to park and reach the chargers. He also asked how many people the charging stations would benefit, especially with Highway 63 likely to bypass Vienna in the future.

After the discussion, Stratman left a message with MRPC saying the commission was likely no longer interested in a grant though it would like more information about the St. Robert project if that is available.

During the June 13 meeting, Stratman said he had contacted the city of Vienna to ask about any scheduled demolitions. The city did not know of any at this time.

Stratman asked the other commissioners if they wanted to request bids for the demolition project.

Drewel said he did not see a reason to hurry to tear down the building. He suggested waiting and seeing if the county had any demolition grant opportunities. Fagre agreed that the county could wait and see about a grant.

Facility updates

K. Brown Contracting completed the installation of a new security door on the main floor of the courthouse. The door is beside the license office and secures the stairway leading down to the sheriff’s office. It has magnetic locks and a buzzer to alert the sheriff’s office that someone is requesting entry.

The installation affected the handrail on the steps and the wall now pushes against the rail, which prevents someone from fully gripping it. The commission discussed buying a replacement handrail.

Also as part of the grant from the United States Department of Health and Senior Services to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in jails, the sheriff’s office recently had work done to the air filtration system.

During the June 10 meeting, Chief Deputy Scott John came to ask the commission about moving a wall in the room the sheriff’s office used as a visitation room and turning it into an office because office space is limited right now. The quote he received on the project was around $2,000. He said he could try to get it included on the jail grant but otherwise, he thought it should come out of the Buildings and Grounds fund.

Holiday switch

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said she had talked to several people at the courthouse who would prefer to remain open for Juneteenth, which is a Wednesday, and instead close the courthouse the day after Independence Day, which is a Friday. She asked what the commissioners thought of the idea.

Stratman said he was unsure how the switch would affect the license office, which often communicates with the Department of Revenue if the state office was closed and the license office remained open. After checking on the process for closing the license office for a day, the commission found that the license office needed to submit an online form letting the state know if it was open or closed on a different day than usual.

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre asked if the governor had made a decision to make this year’s July 5 a state holiday. Missouri’s governors often declare the day after Thanksgiving a holiday, but it varies each year and the announcement usually comes within a week of the holiday.

Rodgers called the governor’s office to ask if there had been any word about July 5 being a holiday this year. The communications person said there had been no mention at this time.

Although Drewel questioned if there would be negative feedback to remaining open on a holiday, the commission agreed to approve the holiday switch from June 19 to July 5.

Sales Tax Revenue

Treasurer Angie Stricklan reported the county’s sales tax revenue in June.

The first sales tax fund brought $38,993.20 to General Revenue in June, which was an increase of about 29 percent from last June. The total halfway through the year is $194,545.33 compared to $178,201.64 at this time last year.

The second sales tax brought the county $38,821.83 to split into thirds between General Revenue, Citizen Safety and the two road funds. The figure is an increase of about 29 percent from last June. The total halfway through the year is $193,277.18 compared to $177,622.87 at this time last year.

The third sales tax brought the county $38,821.71 in June, which is also an increase of about 29 percent from last June. The total halfway through the year is $193,276.93 compared to $177,622.89 at this time last year. Citizen Safety receives two-thirds of the revenue. General Revenue and the road funds split the other one-third.

The law enforcement sales tax brought the county $12,888.98 in June, which is an increase of about 30 percent from the previous June. The total halfway through the year is $64,168.07 compared to $58,969.02 at this time last year.

The county received $24,523.46 in revenue from the use tax in June, which was an increase of about 107 percent from the previous June. The total halfway through the year is $155,302.60 compared to $140,352.66 at this time last year.