VIENNA — At the Dec. 12 meeting of the Maries County commissioners, Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman shared information from a Dec. 8 meeting of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s (MRPC) Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC).

TAC reviewed the transportation priority projects selected by counties that MRPC helps. In October, the Maries County commissioners selected the south intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 28 near the Rolla National Airport as their top priority. A project there would add a left turn lane onto Highway 28 for drivers going south on Highway 63.

Second on the priorities list were safety improvements at the intersection of Highway 42 and Route 133, which would improve vision at the “Y” intersection. Third on the commissioners’ priorities list was a project to add shoulders to Highway 28 throughout the county.

The commissioners’ fourth priority was safety improvements to the “Y” intersection at the north intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 28, which would improve sight lines by changing the intersection from a “Y” shape to a “T” shape.

The fifth priority on the commissioners’ list was the extension of the climbing lane on Highway 63 at the intersection of Highway A.

“We got third place,” Stratman told the other commissioners. “I felt pretty good about that because we were one of eight counties presenting there.”

The commissioners’ top priority, the left turn lane from Highway 63 onto Highway 28 received 74 votes at the TAC meeting, which places it as a high-priority project for the entire Meramec region. The top project, repairs to a bridge over Crooked Creek in Dent County, received 85 votes. Second place, capacity and safety improvements at an interchange on Highway V in Phelps County, received 76 votes.

Stratman said he thinks there is a “pretty good shot” the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will fund the project.

TAC selected two Maries County projects as medium-priority. The commissioners’ fourth priority, the safety improvements at the north intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 28 received 38 votes.

“The only bad thing about that one is that if they redo the highway (63), that’s really going to be a waste,” Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said.

“There would still be the same amount of traffic on (Highway) 28,” Stratman said. “There just wouldn’t be as much on (Highway) 63. What they’re talking about doing there is moving it (the intersection) south of the crest of that hill so you can see both ways instead of being over the hill.”

“It would still be dangerous, but not as bad,” Drewel said.

The commissioners’ second priority, the safety improvements at the intersection of Highway 42 and Route 133, received 28 votes.

TAC determined the other two Maries County projects were low-priority for the region. The commissioners’ fifth priority, an extension to the climbing lane on Highway 63 near Highway A, received 23 votes. The commissioners’ third priority, the addition of shoulders on Highway 28, received five votes.

“They’re (TAC) not much on that,” Drewel said.

“That would be an expensive one, too,” Stratman said. “It would be time-consuming and have a lot of interference from traffic.”

Stratman reminded the other commissioners that even though Maries County projects placed high and low on the list, MoDOT has the final say.

“This is all just recommendations,” he said. “The highway department is going to do whatever they want and whatever fits their circumstances. Some of these like Highway 42 and 133 would be expensive because you’d have to buy some land there.”

Stratman said TAC always discusses regional priorities, which encompass major projects on Highway 63 running north and south and Highway 50 running east to west.

“It’s been agreed in the four years that I’ve been over there (working with TAC) that they’re major priority routes,” he said. “They’re always going to be there (at the top).”

Premium payments

Drewel asked the other commissioners if they had thought any more about a raise for county employees.

“I sure would like to give everybody a raise,” Stratman said. He said he liked the idea of premium payments rather than a raise because it gave the county flexibility if the budget were tighter in the future.

Drewel agreed that flexibility was important, and funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) had helped the county remain financially flexible.

“After the ARPA money runs out in another year or two, who knows what it’s going to bring?” he said. “If you get committed to paying an extra dollar or two on a raise, now you’re committed. This way, we can do it this year, next year, if we have the money. We’re not tied to anything whether you give them $10 or $5,000. And we know how much we have.”

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said they should receive their premium payments before the end of the year because it is for this year. She suggested paying it along with the last paycheck of the year.

“That would give them a pretty good bonus right around Christmas time and right around tax time,” Drewel said. “If you spread that out over a whole year, it would only be $10 a week or something. This way, it’d be kind of a bonus shot.”

“If we do it, we need to decide on a dollar amount,” Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said.

Drewel said an additional dollar per hour would amount to $2,080 per employee. Rodgers asked if the payments would include both full-time and part-time employees. Fagre said previous premium payments had not included part-time employees.

Deputy County Clerk Renee Kottwitz recommended including part-time employees in the plan.

“This place can’t run without part-time people, too,” she said.

The commissioners agreed that it would be best to include part-time employees at a lower amount.

“Would it be bad if we keep the full-times at $2,000 and put the part-times at $500?” Stratman asked. After reviewing a list of employees, the commissioners determined that there was room in the budget to include everyone at those values.

The commissioners approved $2,000 payments to full-time employees, excluding elected officials, and $500 payments to part-time employees. The money will come from the General Revenue fund.

ELECTION GRANTS

Rodgers said she received two grants. One is a $13,941.14 grant for election security, and the other is a $2,446.86 grant for election efficiency. She said the computer and tower used for elections will receive upgrades as part of the grants. The laptop she uses for elections is no longer compatible with the necessary software, so the county must complete the upgrade before the April 2023 election.

Another piece of equipment Rodgers needs is another voting machine to tally votes cast by people needing an address change on Election Day. Rodgers said rules prohibit counties from tallying address change votes in the same machines as absentee votes. Two Maries County voters cast ballots after getting Election Day address changes in November.

The commissioners showed concern that recent lawsuits against voting machine companies could quickly make a voting machine purchase obsolete. Rodgers said she only planned to purchase one machine.

OTHER BUSINESS

Fagre said Jim Hale and Dale Wieberg would do a few maintenance activities around the courthouse, such as putting up blinds or replacing ceiling tiles. Stratman said he had a list of tasks they could complete.

Stratman said Cody Brown will come to look at a backflow valve that could need replacing.

The commissioners received no bids on a new air handler. The commissioners decided they would call around to get some prices from different businesses.

Stratman recognized Angie Thompson for her donations of decorated Christmas tree displays at the courthouse.

“I think she did an excellent job,” he said. “She’s really artistic.”

Fagre told Stratman that someone had an interest in the old tax records that the Historical Society of Maries County planned to destroy. Fagre said he would contact the man and let him know he can pick up the documents.