VIENNA — The Maries County Commission and Sheriff Mark Morgan heard a complaint about the sheriff’s office’s handling of a dispute between neighbors during the commission’s April 3 meeting.

Ashley Mikkelsen lives on the western side of Highway 28. She joined the commission meeting to address problems she had with how the sheriff’s office had responded to calls about an issue she had with her neighbors. She alleged that her neighbors had property on her land, and after getting a survey of the property, she was confident in asking the neighbors to move the items to their land.

The neighbors were unable to resolve the issue on their own, so Mikkelsen reported it to the sheriff’s office. On multiple occasions, deputies informed her that the issue was one to handle in civil court, and the sheriff’s office would be unable to move the items from private property. She also alleged her neighbors shot guns to intimidate her while she took photos of the items and that they had dumped rocks on her driveway, which had damaged her car.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel asked for clarification that the sheriff’s office could do nothing about the issue.

Mikkelsen said that during the last visit to her property by the sheriff’s office, she had received two citations for harassment and property damage and no help.

Drewel asked if Mikkelsen had spoken with the prosecuting attorney’s office. He recommended that she get an attorney to handle the issue in court.

Mikkelsen said she was frustrated because everyone she spoke with sent her to someone else. She said the sheriff had also ignored her calls.

The commissioners requested that Morgan come to the meeting so he could hear Mikkelsen’s issue with the office.

When Morgan arrived, he said he had met Mikkelsen the previous day when the sheriff’s office had answered another call to her property.

Mikkelsen asked why one of the deputies had told her that her neighbors could access her land to remove their property from it.

Morgan said he misunderstood because he thought Mikkelsen wanted the neighbor’s property moved off her land.

Mikkelsen said they could access their property without coming through some of her land.

“My understanding is that after you got it surveyed, they had property that was on your side of the property line,” Morgan said. “So they removed it at your request so that way none of their property was on your side of the property line. That just seemed like a common sense kind of thing.”

Mikkelsen disagreed with the citations she received for allegedly spinning her vehicle’s wheels and sending rocks in the direction of her neighbor’s vehicle.

Morgan said because she had been cited for the allegations, it would be something to handle in court.

Mikkelsen asked how she could file a complaint about false reporting.

“We’ve been out there for six or seven calls,” Morgan said. “It’s not just one deputy. There have been at least four or five different deputies out there, and they keep telling you the same thing: there’s nothing that we can do. It’s a civil matter between you and your neighbor when it comes to that property line stuff.”

Morgan asked if the neighbors had any property remaining on Mikkelsen’s land.

Mikkelsen said she did not know because her neighbors moved things every day. She asked Morgan if he would recommend trespassing charges against her neighbor.

Morgan said he did not have any evidence to support trespassing charges.

Mikkelsen said she had evidence from a previous neighbor supporting her side of the property dispute. She removed a few boxes of mobile printing equipment from her backpack and offered to print out the messages right there.

“Ma’am, I don’t really think this is the appropriate time for all that,” Morgan said. “You can print it out at home and bring the documents to us if you’d like.”

The commissioners again recommended that Mikkelsen hire an attorney to handle both the property dispute and her citations.

Mikkelsen said she believed there was corruption involved in the issue because one of the deputies who came to her land seemed to have a bias toward the other party. She said she would go to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office with her complaint. She said she wanted to get a few of “those big signs that say to vote for somebody else” the next time Morgan appears on the ballot for sheriff, which will be August 2028 if he decides to seek another term.

Finances

Amid recent financial struggles for the county, County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers had a positive update to share during the March 31 commission meeting: all the county financial accounts ended 2025’s first quarter with positive balances.

Drewel asked how the funds related to the sheriff’s office and dispatching center were holding up after recent concerns about the 911 fund’s sustainability caused some reworking of the payments coming out of the fund.

Rodgers said the sheriff’s office and 911 funds should be good for at least another quarter. For the sheriff’s office to remain positive without significant changes, it would need Proposition A, an extension of the one-third of one-half cent sales tax to pass in the April 8 election. Without an extension, the tax would sunset in September.

The tax brought more than $126,000 to the sheriff’s office last year. At the April 3 meeting, Drewel asked Morgan how losing the tax revenue would affect the office.

Morgan said that without the extension, he would likely have to cut two deputy positions. One of those would probably be a detective. The sheriff emphasized the importance of the detective position because it handles bigger cases than the average road deputy.

The county plans to meet with someone from the Missouri 911 Service Board this week to discuss future 911 funding options.

Lawn Care

The commissioners at the March 31 meeting opened bids for annual lawn care at the courthouse and county building across the street.

Wansing Exterior Services bid $150 per visit. Two other businesses, Distler’s Lawn Care and Struemph Lawn Care, tied for the low bid at $85.

The commissioners opted to leave the final decision to chance rather than pick one business over the other. After a coin flip ended up heads, the commission accepted Struemph Lawn Care’s bid.

During the discussion of mowing services, dissatisfaction with other facets of the courthouse lawn, such as the tree rings. Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman offered to contact Vienna High School to see if a landscaping class would be available to help beautify the courthouse.

Stratman briefly took VHS agriculture teacher Sara Schwartze around the courthouse lawn during the April 3 meeting. When he returned, he said the landscaping class would work on the lawn later this month.

Courthouse Maintenance

A few mechanical problems emerged at the courthouse in the last few weeks, which has prompted the commission to seek help from technicians.

Stratman said at the March 31 meeting that the courthouse generator had issues with its thermostat. Haller Automotive had replaced it and it was back to operating as normal.

The jail staff reported issues with the HVAC system, which just received updates last year. Maciejewski Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning repaired it on warranty.

At the April 3 meeting, Stratman said the handicap-accessible entrance to the courthouse was having problems again. Last summer, the door had a couple of repairs that prevented it from properly opening and closing.

Stratman said he had called the company that had worked on the door previously. Getting only one part for the repair was not a possibility, so the county would need to spend a minimum of $500 and six to eight weeks of time waiting for the pieces to arrive. He planned to look into other options to get the door repaired sooner.

The courthouse elevator has returned to operation for the first time since January after passing inspection last week.

Information officer

The commissioners signed a resolution to make Morgan the county’s public information officer in the event of a disaster. The appointment falls in line with the county practice of having the sheriff fill the role as guided by the Department of Homeland Security’s National Incident Management System strategy for event response.