VIENNA — The Maries County Commission spoke with the county prosecutor and a local researcher to try to resolve questions about a former county road.

Resident Tom Swayden first posed the questions during the May 15 commission meeting. Last year, he bought land that includes the right-of-way for what was once Maries Road 416. The commission and county clerk’s office have been unable to locate a document stating when the road stopped being county property, but they believe it was in the 1970s at the latest.

Swayden requested to see the deed to the road to see when the county ceased to own it. He later found a deed from 1943 that established the road. It did not indicate when the road stopped existing. Digital mapping of the county also labels the strip through Swayden’s property as Maries Road 416 despite his deed not showing a road through the property.

The commission’s position has been that the road was no longer a road because the county has not maintained it nor received state County Aid Road Trust funds for as long as anyone can find. Chapter 228, Section 190 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri states, “nonuse by the public for five years continuously of any public road shall be deemed an abandonment and vacation.”

Swayden requested that the county formally vacate the road so the process would be documented. The commissioners had reservations about going through the process when they believed that they did not own the road. Another concern they had was about how vacating the road could affect Moreland Cemetery, which the county owns, because Chapter 214, Section 132 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri grants the public the right to access burial grounds surrounded by private property during reasonable hours and for typical cemetery purposes.

The commissioners shared their concerns with Prosecuting Attorney Tony Skouby during the May 27 meeting.

Skouby agreed with the commissioners that the land that used to be the road belonged to Swayden because of the deed to his property saying he owned it and the county’s lack of maintenance to the road. He did not want the county to go through the process of having the land surveyed and producing a new deed when it was already clear to the county who owned the land.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel asked if the county not owning the road would affect the public’s access to the cemetery.

Skouby said he believed private property owners surrounding cemeteries had to give the public reasonable access. He said if Swayden returned to a meeting, then he could answer questions the resident had about the property.

Researcher Patrick Kliethermes joined the commission at its May 29 meeting to discuss findings he made while looking into the matter for Swayden. He mentioned the right-of-way deed that plotted the land as a county road. He believed the only way for the county to vacate the road was by receiving a petition, holding a hearing and formally vacating it. He had seen Osage County go through the process several times.

The commissioners disagreed and cited the state statute that declares county roads vacant after five years of nonuse by the public. They recommended that Kliethermes share his findings with Skouby to check what the attorney thought about how to proceed.

Drewel asked why Swayden’s deed for his property did not show the road if it is still county property.

Kliethermes said the county should have kept a record of all the county roads with their establishment dates and other information, such as end dates when applicable.

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said that over the years she has tried to locate those types of documents, but she had never found them in the county’s records.

Drewel also continued to question how formally vacating the road would impact access to the cemetery. He suggested that if vacating the road required a formal process and it was still county property, then the county could opt to reopen the road.

FEMA Relief

Gov. Mike Kehoe announced on May 23 that his request for federal aid in response to several severe storms in March and April received approval from President Donald Trump.

Maries County is one of 25 counties receiving public assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the storms that occurred between March 30 and April 8. Maries County faced flooding and related damages from storms on April 4. Kehoe’s request included more than $25.5 million in qualifying expenses.

“This is important and very welcome news for the Missouri families and communities hit hard by the devastating storms and tornadoes that began in March and have affected so much of our state,” Kehoe said in a press release. “The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) will be working closely with FEMA to move the federal assistance process forward, which will provide millions of dollars in much-needed recovery support for individuals, families, and local jurisdictions. We appreciate the work of our federal congressional delegation in advocating for these requests and future assistance for Missourians.”

Maries County did not qualify for individual assistance, which 18 counties received for the storms on March 14 and March 15. Twenty counties also received public assistance for those storms. Requests for assistance for the April 29 and May 16 storms, which did not impact Maries County, are still pending.

Lawsuit

The commission briefly adjourned into closed session during the May 27 meeting to discuss pending litigation with Michael Berry, an attorney hired by MOPERM, the county’s liability insurance provider.

Richard Potter, a resident of Texas, petitioned the court on April 30 for $25,000 in damages related to a 2020 all-terrain vehicle crash on Maries Road 447. The petition alleges that the conditions of the bridge were dangerous and the county failed to warn motorists about it.

The court has not scheduled any hearing dates for the case.

Jail Maintenance

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman called Servpro to verify the results of the mold tests taken at the courthouse earlier in May. Sheriff Mark Morgan had identified what he believed to be mold in the women’s jail shower and underneath the bunks in the men’s jail and requested a test.

After receiving the results of the mold test, the commissioners were surprised not only to see that the lab had no evidence of mold but also that the mold tests came from the file room and supply room rather than inside the cells.

The Servpro employee explained the company took samples from air quality. The sampling locations were at the elevator when reaching the top floor, where the women’s jail resides, and the room containing the courthouse’s HVAC system. Mold would have appeared on the lab reports for those sampling locations if it were a concern for the company.

Servpro’s recommendation was to get dehumidifiers for the locations that worried the county. The sheriff’s office had already purchased one for the women’s jail.

Tax Revenue

Revenue from sales taxes increased across the board in May while motor vehicle taxes and fees had mixed outcomes, according to reports shared by Treasurer Angie Pasley.

The first county sales tax, which contributes all its funds to General Revenue, brought the county $33,378.02 in May. Revenue increased by about 3 percent from the previous May.

Another sales tax, which divides its revenue equally among General Revenue, Citizen Safety and county road funds, brought the county $33,254.61 for the month. The third sales tax, which contributes two-thirds of its revenue to Citizen Safety, one-sixth to road funds and one-sixth to General Revenue, produced $33,254.52 in monthly revenue. The law enforcement sales tax brought $11,040.55 for the sheriff’s office.

Monthly revenue from the preceding three taxes increased by about 4 percent from the previous May. Each of the four sales taxes has brought about 42.2 percent of the total revenue from last year.

The use tax on online purchases brought the county $27,043.23, which was a 30 percent increase from the previous May. So far this year, the use tax has generated about 48.3 percent of last year’s total revenue.

Road One and Road Two split motor vehicle revenue 55 percent to 45 percent, respectively. Motor fuel tax revenue in May totaled $46,967, which was a 12 percent increase from the previous May. So far this year, the tax has generated about 42.8 percent of last year’s total revenue.

The motor vehicle tax brought the county $10,423.84 in May, which was an increase of about $91 from the previous May. The tax so far this year has brought the county about 41 percent of last year’s total revenue.

Motor vehicle fee revenue decreased from the previous May with an 11 percent decline and only $4,374.74 in monthly revenue. So far this year, the fees have brought the county about 42.9 percent of last year’s total revenue.

Obstructed view

A resident left a message for the commission requesting they do something about the intersections of Maries Road 440 and Maries Road 442 because the brush had grown to the point of affecting visibility.

Drewel said the county could not do anything about the brush because it had grown on private property.