VIENNA — After a county employee recently tested positive for the COVID-19, there were questions about how to handle the required leave the employee needed to take to keep others safe from catching it, too. 

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said he thinks all of the employees need to be treated the same. County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said they need a policy. They talked about 10 days and 14 days. County employees get six sick days a year, but could combine vacation time into make up for the days they can’t work due to being in quarantine.

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman called Phelps-Maries County Health Department Director Ashley Wann who said the infected employee can come back to work on Sept. 27. 

An employee who had the virus said they could return to work 10 days after testing positive and for a close contact it was 14 days after being exposed to a positive person as the additional days were a period of time in case they caught the virus and the additional four days gave the person time to develop symptoms. This is the policy the county adopted and employees who are out of work due to COVID-19 must use their own sick leave and vacation days in order to be paid for the days they are out with COVID-19. 

Monument corners

Stratman said he talked to local surveyor Tyler “TC” James, who owns Show-Me Surveying. James told him he wants to monument several corners in Maries County. He can do up to five a year and be paid $300 per surveyed corner by the county. The county then can be reimbursed completely by the state. Clerk Rodgers said the Department of Agriculture called about this issue. 

James told Stratman he knows of several corners that will work. Stratman said the work James does with these corners will help the citizens of Maries County and save money, too. 

Drewel said a lot of old county farms haven’t been surveyed in years, or even never surveyed. “If there is no cost and a benefit, why not do it?” Drewel said. Any surveyor can do this. 

Stratman said if they partner James, he can do 10 and get paid for five. It will be beneficial to have this information recorded. 

Free desks

Two sheriff’s staff members drove to Sedalia last Thursday to pick up four free desks to be used by 911. 

Stratman commented the new floor covering being put down in the sheriff’s office looks good and he likes it a lot. 

Solar Farm

Stratman said he had a message on his phone from the Invenergy representative about the proposed solar farm on the county’s east side. A meeting has been set up at Vichy with representatives of MRPC and Rolla and the commissioners were invited. He said the project is moving along. Some landowners have signed up to have solar panels placed on their land with the company paying an annual rental fee for use. Now they are working on engineering. 

Stratman said he was told they intend to have the substation ready by 2024. There will be a transmission line but just how this will be he did not know. The commissioners discussed the positives and negatives of underground versus from pole to pole. Drewel said they would need to be careful if there is enough electricity in the line to kill somebody if they dug it up. They had questions of whether buried lines would be marked and if they will  need easements from farmers or the county if the county roads and ditches are part of where the transmission lines will be put. 

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said Ameren is building  a solar farm in Montgomery County, the largest in the state.