VIENNA — Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman shared regional transportation priorities during the Dec. 18 Maries County Commission meeting.

Stratman had attended a recent Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting hosted by the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC). Each year, leaders in the eight counties that MRPC serves each independently select a handful of transportation project priorities in their areas. Then, the TAC, featuring three representatives from each county, meets in December to vote on the most important regional priorities. The projects can fall into one of three categories: high priority, medium priority or low priority.

In October, the Maries County Commission selected four priority projects for presentation at the TAC meeting. The county’s top priority is a left turn lane for the intersection of southbound Highway 63 and eastbound Highway 28 near the Rolla National Airport. Second, the commission ranked safety improvements at the “Y” and “T” intersections of Highway 42 and Highway 133. Third, they selected safety improvements, including adding shoulders, to Highway 28 throughout the county. Fourth, they picked safety improvements to the “Y” intersection at the north junction of Highway 63 and Highway 28 at the spur.

The TAC chose two Maries County projects as high priorities for the region. The safety improvements at the southern intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 28 received 54 votes, which was the fifth most in the region. Safety improvements to the intersections of Highway 42 and Highway 133 received 42 votes, which tied for sixth most with safety improvements on a bridge over Cherry Valley Branch in Crawford County.

The top priority for the region is fixing a flooding concern and replacing a culvert with a bridge in Dent County on Route TT over Crooked Creek. The project received 83 votes. The second-highest regional priority is capacity and safety improvements to the Route V interchange on Interstate 44 in Phelps County. The project received 80 votes. The third-highest regional priority is the addition of a left turn lane onto Lindburg Road at the intersection of Highway 19 in Crawford County. The project received 61 votes. The fourth-highest priority is safety improvements to the intersection of Route E and Highway 63 in Osage County. The project received 55 votes.

The TAC chose the Maries County project at the north junction of Highway 63 and Highway 28 as a medium priority. It received 26 votes, which tied it for 18th place in the region. The group chose the improvements to Highway 28 throughout Maries County as a low priority. The project received 25 votes, which tied it for 20th place in the region.

Now that the TAC has selected the regional priorities, MRPC will present the top projects to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) Central District for funding consideration.

Stratman also shared statistics from the meeting.

As of Dec. 10, the Meramec region had 42 road fatalities this year, which is one more than at the same time the previous year. Deaths on the road decreased statewide from 990 to 932 this year. Only one death occurred in a crash in Maries County.

Grants

Chief Deputy Scott John came to the Dec. 21 commission meeting to talk about a grant that the county received from the United States Department of Health and Senior Services. The purpose of the grant is to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases in the county jail and sheriff’s office. The grant requires no match and is fully funded for $190,000.

The grant will cover at least one year’s worth of cleaning supplies for the jail, a new HVAC system, new commercial washer and dryer units, new security measures, a new camera system with facial recognition and monitors mounted in the ceiling to alert jailers to changes in an inmate’s heart or respiratory rates.

In a purchase unrelated to the grant, the sheriff’s office bought new lockers to rework the evidence room. The new lockers are double-sided evidence lockers. The sheriff’s office will move the evidence room wall back by about 8 feet and put up a new locked door so the only person who can access the back of the lockers is the evidence technician. Moving the wall will also open up more space for storage and the emergency operations center. John estimated the construction would be done in a few weeks.

Prosecuting Attorney Tony Skouby also stopped by the Dec. 21 meeting and said he had been selected from a federal lottery program to attend a week-long training on the relationships between digital technology and law enforcement and court cases. He will travel to Alabama for the training in the early spring.

Stratman said that in January there will be meetings about roadway safety grants. The grants bring semi-trucks to a community space to demonstrate where the blind spots are on the trucks.

Vehicle tax revenue

Treasurer Angie Stricklan reported the county’s year-end motor vehicle tax revenues. Road One and Road Two split all the motor vehicle tax revenue 55 percent and 45 percent respectively.

Motor fuel tax revenue in December was $43,253.69, which was an 8 percent increase from last December. The total for the year was $476,457.98, which was a 15 percent increase from last year. May was the lowest month for motor fuel tax revenue at $34,970.97. At $44,345.08, September was the highest month for motor fuel tax revenue.

Motor vehicle tax revenue in December was  $7,729.37, which was a 24 percent decrease from last December. The total for the year was $116,082.50, which was a 9 percent increase from last year. December was the lowest month for motor vehicle tax revenue. At $12,807.20, November was the highest month for motor vehicle tax revenue.

Motor vehicle fee income in December was $3,315.06, which was a 32 percent decrease from last December. The total for the year was $49,096.39, which was a decrease of $117.72 from last year. May was the lowest month for motor vehicle fee income at $2,425.74. At $5,844.07, April was the highest month for motor vehicle tax revenue.