MARIES COUNTY — The high cost of fuel and material is having an impact on the finances of Maries County’s road districts.

At last Thursday’s Maries County Commission meeting, Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel expressed his concern about the rising cost of diesel fuel and rock. He said diesel fuel for Road Two is $4.60 a gallon. He’s buying 1,700 gallons which is $7,820 for fuel that will cover one month for the road district. If the trend continues, this equates to over $93,000 a year at the current price. Drewel said for two years Road Two was paying about $2,200 a month for diesel fuel. 

Diesel used to be cheap and was used to put on sprouts, he said. Then, so many vehicles changed to diesel engines and the price began to go up. Drewel said now the trend is toward electric vehicles. 

Rock prices are going up as well at about $150 a load when it used to be $100 a load. Drewel said he’s concerned at this pace and if it continues, the road district’s budget will go down to an unworkable level with three years. 

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said the county has American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money it can use to weather these price increases. Drewel said the federal money is just a bandaid. 

Maries County is anticipating another $800,000 in ARPA money. Last week Stratman and Treasurer Rhonda Slone did the necessary sign-up and verification work on the internet to receive the money.

Kiosk vs paper

The commissioners considered purchasing another ConnectTeam kiosk to be used downstairs by the 911 Dispatch Center’s dispatchers and the jailers as they need to stay close to their work stations because of the type of emergency response work they do. The cost is about $200 to buy another one. The kiosk is used by employees to clock-in to work when they arrive and to clock-out at the end of their work day. It is a software program that will keep track of everyone’s time and is a work-saver for the payroll clerk, who can log in and pull up the information needed to do payroll. It takes about 15 seconds to sign-in and to sign-out using the kiosk. 

In February the commissioners approved the purchase of the first kiosk, which is in the assessor’s hallway. At that time, Drewel said he was not interested in the payroll kiosk as his employees were diligent in filling out their time cards, but he agreed with using the kiosk for the courthouse employees. However, a kiosk was ordered for Road Two to use. 

Courthouse employees have been using it, and although it is an adjustment, Clerk’s Deputy Renee Kottwitz said they are ironing out any problems they have with it. 

Drewel said he still does not want to use it at Road Two and Kottwitz said that is not a problem. Deputies don’t use it either because when they leave home for work, they are in their sheriff’s office vehicle.

Drewel said the employees should have been more diligent in getting their time sheets to the payroll clerk so they didn’t have to go to the kiosk system. He said if Road Two employees did not turn in their payroll information in a timely manner, then they wouldn’t be paid. 

Kottwitz said this system is easier as all of the information she needs is there and she doesn’t have to reach out to employees and supervisors to get it. It saves a lot of time and effort. 

Stratman said don’t pay them if they don’t turn in their time sheets. Also, Road Two will not be using a kiosk, but will continue to do time sheets. Stratman said the extra kiosk can be used in the dispatch center. 

Road repairs

At the May 10 meeting, County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said she had received multiple phone calls from county citizens concerned with roads needing work following the recent heavy rain and high water.  She said the callers were all very nice about it.

Drewel said there was water over Highway E to Nagogami. The main two places with washouts, he said, was because of high water from the Peavine and Dry Creek. Rodgers said there was damage from the Gasconade River at Chama Valley east of Vienna. 

Stratman said every road ditch was full of water. 

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre replied the Maries River, Gasconade River and Big Tavern were all backed up and out of their banks in places. He said the road crews are working hard to get the roads in shape, but it will take awhile. The Road One men worked the previous Saturday. 

The commissioners have doubts the recent rain event will lead to disaster assistance for the county but they are documenting the work they do on roads just in case there is a disaster declaration by the government. 

Slone reported receiving a $60,855.65 payment from MoDOT for the BRO project recently completed on MCR 608.

Senator Blunt

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt was set to be in both Vienna and Freeburg on Saturday, May 14, following Blunt’s giving a speech at the Missouri S&T Commencement Ceremony at 10 a.m. in Rolla at the Gale Bullman Building.

He then was set to be in Vienna at 1:30 p.m. at the courthouse, then at the Freeburg City Hall at 2:30 p.m. The senator planned to discuss rural broadband and provide a Washington update.

As a member of the Senate Commerce and Appropriations Committees, one of Blunt’s top priorities has been expanding access to broadband. While progress has been made to end the digital divide, nearly one-third of rural Missourians still don’t have access to high speed internet. 

Fagre said Maries County was told several years ago it was allowed $3.707 million for broadband updates. Googling this he found the information and that Wisper was the company that was supposed to receive the money. If the company did receive it or not, it is not known by the commissioners.

Beautification  project

Stratman was contacted by a members of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce about the chamber’s community beautification project, “Adopt a Planter.”

The chamber asked if it can place two planters on each of the four corners of the courthouse lawn, placing them on the grass, just off of the sidewalk. The Vienna FFA Chapter is building the planters and will be responsible for watering and maintaining them. 

The chamber is trying to do more planter adopting and will begin with the courthouse planters. In the winter, the planters will be removed.