Incoming collectors in-training
There is news out of the offices of the treasurer/collector, clerk and county commission.
In the office of the Treasurer/Collector, Phil Couch spent Tuesday providing training to four people. These included current employees Kylie Pritchett and Renea Schulze as well as the incoming Treasurer/Collectors for Vernon and Henry Counties, Brent Baines and Ann Julian.
Upon her election in November, Julian learned the two employees in the Clinton office will retire at the end of March. Immediately, she contacted the company which supplied and supports the computer software for the Clinton office. They put her in touch with Couch since Henry and Vernon are counties with townships, using the same computer software.
For some years, Couch has been a primary trainer of new county treasurers and collectors. And while Julian has paid a single visit to the Treasurer's office in Benton and Carroll Counties, Tuesday's training was Julian's tenth visit to Vernon County with a final one scheduled for Thursday.
For 28 years, Julian and her husband owned and managed the El Sambre restaurant in Clinton.
"I've always loved serving people and working with numbers," said Julian. "After doing the restaurant's books for years, I wanted to get into something which combined people, numbers and service and so being a treasurer/collector is perfect for me," said Julian.
Over in the County Clerk's office, Mike Buehler announced the new state voter identification law will take effect on June 1.
"This means there will be no change in what you need to show in order to vote for the April 4 election," said Buehler.
His office will provide further information as it is released by the Missouri Secretary of State's office.
After years of effort to get approval, funding and engineering all in order, a new bridge on Stokes Road, between 1300 and 1400 roads is almost complete. Known as Bridge Replacement Offline number 42, it was built with 80 percent state funds and a county match of 20 percent.
The matching portion by the county can be achieved either by paying cash from county coffers or by use of what is called soft-match credits.
"You earn those credits by building bridges in your county according to a state-approved process," explained southern commissioner, Everett Wolfe. "But our crew can build a bridge quicker and cheaper so it's getting to be not really worth it for us to earn soft-match credits. The extra cost for labor and the time it takes to finish a project is more than what we earn in credits."
Having used up its soft-match credits, the commission, on Sept. 30, went shopping on a Missouri Department of Transportation website and noted Macon County had over $500,000 in credits.
Hardin's request to buy credits for 50 cents on the dollar was laughingly refused but in less than a month when Hardin said, "We'll pay you $35,000 in cash for $70,000 in soft-match credits," Macon's commissioners thought it to be a good deal and agreed.
"The state does this to encourage the building of more bridges, which Missouri badly needs," said Wolfe. "And now we have credits we can use on our next bridge projects, BRO-43 and 44."
The state's Department of Transportation asked the county to give partial acceptance of BRO-42, which will let the construction company move their equipment but still gives the county the right to call them back if anything is not been properly done, explained Hardin.
A contractor will apply a chip and seal top coat to the bridge in May followed by the final project review.
The commission reported progress on its work at Katy Allen Lake. The bridge which had been taken from Tally Bend Road has been installed at the south end of the lake. On the sides of the approaches to the bridge, riprap -- large rock -- has been installed to stabilize the dirt.
Asked if the lake would be dredged, the commission said no.
"Moving that amount of dirt would involve a detailed permitting process, opening the whole project to scrutiny by not only the DNR (Missouri's Department of Natural Resources) but also the EPA (federal Environmental Protection Agency)," explained Hardin. "This would greatly increase the cost to taxpayers and stretch out the timeline."
Plans call for raising the water well above its former level.
Vernon County's presiding commissioner relayed news from Solid Waste District M, which Hardin chairs.
"We applied for and have been approved to receive a grant of $31,000 from Region M for 2018," said Hardin. "These funds will be used to offset labor costs for the operation of the Vernon County Recycling Center."
When Hardin began, the grant was $27,000 while last year it was $29,000.
Mention of the recycling center led Hardin to pull out a flyer and say he wanted everyone in the county to be aware of the upcoming e-waste recycling event to be held on Saturday morning, April 8, at the recycling center. Details can be found elsewhere in this edition of the Daily Mail.
Asked about when work on the stone entrances of the courthouse would begin, Hardin said the contractor would be on site by the end of March.
"Once underway, it should take about eight to 10 weeks," said Hardin. "We will close no more than two entrances at a time."
On Wednesday morning, the commission plans to adopt an ordinance and will participate with Nevada in a joint signing, at noon, as the city and county join with other municipalities and counties across the state in forming a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The intent is to serve as a means better to manage the prescription of opioids and other schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances.